Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf formalized his disputed re-election bid Thursday, while the Supreme Court ordered the government to release opposition members recently arrested.

The general’s nomination papers for the upcoming presidential elections were filed by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to the Election Commission, as the whole country eagerly expects the Supreme Court’s decision over Musharraf’s eligibility.

“President Pervez Musharraf is the candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League and its allies, and we are fully confident that he will succeed,” the premier said as he submitted Musharraf's papers.

Opposition members filed several petitions challenging Musharraf’s right to run for another five-year term as army general and the country’s top court is expected to pass down its final ruling until Friday.

Nine senior judges are hearing the last petitions that contest the president’s re-election bid on the grounds that the constitution does not allow a military chief to run for president.

Meanwhile, the struggle between Musharraf and the opposition consumed another episode on Thursday, when Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry ordered the government to release the hundreds of opposition leaders and supporters detained over the past days.

The opposition threatened to stage mass protests and the authorities tried to prevent the demonstrations by deploying thousands of security forces in Islamabad. Dozens of roadblocks were set up across the capital, but Chaudhry ordered police to dismantle barricades on roads into the city.

However, troops remained in place around several key points including the building of the Election Commission, where three candidates submitted their nomination papers.

The main opposition bloc, the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) threatened to leave the parliament if Musharraf presents his candidacy. Even so, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) has enough seats to hand Musharraf a new five-year mandate.

Musharraf pledged to leave his army position after winning another term, a promise reiterated by Mushahid Hussain, the PML-Q secretary general.

“Not much distance remains now between General Musharraf and Mr Musharraf. We are already on our way to seeing Mr Musharraf in his dapper designer suit,” he said.

Musharraf, an army general who came to power in 1999, is a key US ally in the war against terrorism. But that status didn’t help him rout out militancy in Pakistan, Washington and Kabul officials criticizing the general for failing to contain growing insurgency in tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.

Musharraf tried to consolidate his position on the political stage by cutting a power-sharing deal with former prime minister and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

But the negotiations reached a deadlock and Bhutto remains in a tight spot as corruption charges against her remain standing. She pledged to return home on October 18 after eight years in self-imposed exile.

Further more, her party Pakistan Peoples Party announced it will support a candidate in the forthcoming presidential elections, but only if Musharraf’s is disqualified by the Supreme Court.

The nomination papers of Makhdoom Amin Fahim were filed Thursday along with those of retired justice Wajih ud Din Ahmed, who was accompanied by hundreds of lawyers demonstrating against Musharraf.

Ahmed was a judged at the Supreme Court until 2001, but his chances to win the presidential runoff are dim.

“My sole aim is to resist dictatorship on behalf of the entire Pakistani nation,” the former judge said.