Pakistan?s Supreme Court, packed with government-friendly judges since the imposition of emergency rule, dismissed yesterday the main challenges to President Pervez Musharraf?s re-election last month.

Once the court clears Musharraf?s October 6 victory, he has promised to step down as army chief and be sworn in as a civilian president as soon as possible. A bench of 10 judges struck down the five main challenges to Musharraf?s right to have contested the election while still army chief. The sixth and final petition will be heard later this week. ?One is pending and it will be heard on Thursday,? Attorney-General Malik Qayyum told Reuters.

Musharraf?s main aim in assuming emergency powers was to purge the Supreme Court of judges he feared were about to annul his re-election as president.

On the day before, Musharraf said he was asking the Election Commission to call a a parliamentary election on January 8.

?Inshallah (God willing), the general elections in the country would be held on January 8,? the official Associated Press of Pakistan news agency quoted Musharraf as saying late on the day before.

But he gave no date for lifting the state of emergency, despite US pressure over the weekend to put nuclear-armed Pakistan back on a democratic track.

Negroponte warned Musharraf that the election?s credibility would suffer unless the state of emergency announced on November 3 was rolled back.

Negroponte, who left Pakistan on the day before, was careful not to undermine General Musharraf, a crucial US ally in the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban. But he stuck to Washington?s stated position that thousands of people detained in the last two weeks should be released and curbs on the media should be lifted.

Pakistani newspapers were disparaging of Negroponte?s failure to back up words with some kind of threat unless Musharraf complied. ?To see the US stick it out on the wrong side of the fence will not win the latter any approval with the people of Pakistan,? Dawn said in an editorial yesterday.

Negroponte said reconciliation was ?very desirable? between moderate political forces, apparently referring to the breakdown of an understanding between Musharraf and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto for possible post-election power sharing.