ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Tuesday that Pakistan's major opposition parties will demand the end of emergency rule and the release of former Supreme Court judges as a condition for their participation in parliamentary elections.
Sharif and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto held their first talks Monday since both returned from exile. In a show of unity, Sharif and Bhutto agreed that the elections would not be free and fair under the state of emergency that President Pervez Musharraf proclaimed a month ago.
They agreed to set up a joint committee to formulate demands for the government and set a deadline for compliance. The committee began its deliberations Tuesday.
The demands will include the restoration of the constitution and the release of the judges from house arrest, Sharif said.
"The main (issue) will be how much time we should give to the government to accept our demands," he said during a visit to supporters. "Our main demand is all the actions in declaring emergency rule should be withdrawn."
Ahsan Iqbal, one of Sharif's nominees on the committee, said it would begin firming up its demands on Wednesday.
"We all were in agreement that under the prevailing, fraudulent system, the forthcoming elections would be massively rigged unless the opposition takes concrete steps," he said.
Bhutto and her party had no immediate comment.
Since he declared emergency rule Nov. 3, Musharraf has filled the Supreme Court with loyalists and jailed hundreds of human rights workers, civic activists and lawyers.
Most have since been released, and he has promised to lift the emergency Dec. 16, about three weeks ahead of parliamentary elections set for Jan. 8.
Musharraf retired as army chief and took the oath as a civilian president last week. At his inauguration, he said there would be a level playing field in the elections for both Sharif and Bhutto.
Since coming home last week after eight years in exile, Sharif has emerged as Musharraf's most vociferous opponent. He has called Musharraf's presidency illegal and refuses to deal with the newly retired army general.
Election officials on Monday rejected Sharif's candidacy for the elections because he was convicted in two cases stemming from a 1999 military coup in which current President Pervez Musharraf overthrew his government.
Sharif's politician brother also had his candidacy rejected, and faced possible arrest over murder charges dating back to 1998.
"Whatever Musharraf wants to do, let him do it," Nawaz Sharif said in the northern town of Abbottabad. "We can face imprisonment, but our struggle will continue."
Despite deep personal mistrust, Musharraf and Bhutto continue to call for moderates to join forces against rising Islamic extremism -- a goal backed by Western countries with troops in Afghanistan who worry about al Qaeda havens in Pakistan's restless tribal region along the border.
A female suicide bomber blew herself up Tuesday in the northwestern city of Peshawar, without causing any other casualties or damage. Police said they did not know her intended target.
Although there has been a rash of suicide bombings in Pakistan in recent months, this is the first known case in of a woman carrying out a such an attack.
In Bajur, a tribal region bordering Afghanistan, suspected Islamic militants abducted six police and blew up a roadside security post, a military statement said.
Bajur is a rugged region where security officials say al Qaeda and Taliban-linked militants operate. Militants have been blamed for attacks on security forces in the area.
Police also clashed briefly with about 250 people taking part in a protest march in the capital, Islamabad. There were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests.
