SWEET GESTURE: Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto buying sweets from a vendor after submitting her nomination papers in Larkana, central Pakistan, yesterday. -- PHOTO: AFP

A day after returning from seven years in exile, Mr Sharif was showered with rose petals by supporters as he filed his nomination papers for the Jan 8 vote.

But he said the elections would be acceptable only if military ruler Pervez Musharraf lifted his state of emergency and withdrew an order suspending the Constitution.

'My party will not become part of any coalition government under President Musharraf in future,' he told reporters. 'We believe that any government serving under Musharraf will be illegal and undemocratic.'

He also called for the reinstatement of top judges fired by Gen Musharraf for refusing to endorse the state of emergency, now in its fourth week.

He said he was in favour of boycotting the general election, but did not rule out his participation pending talks with other parties.

Ms Bhutto also filed her papers yesterday. Both opposition leaders say they had to do so ahead of a midnight deadline even if they later decide to pull out.

'We are concerned that elections will be rigged but we don't want to leave the field empty,' she said at her family's ancestral home in Larkana.

She reached out to Mr Sharif, welcoming his return and saying she was ready to form an alliance 'with all moderate political parties'.

Meanwhile, officials indicated that Gen Musharraf would be sworn in as a civilian president on Thursday after resigning from the army.

This would meet a key demand of the international community, which has been outraged by his state of emergency.

'My information is that he will take the oath as a civilian president on Thursday,' Attorney-General Malik Muhammad Qayyum said.

Mr Sharif's return, a month after Ms Bhutto also ended her exile, ratchets up the pressure on Gen Musharraf. Mr Sharif and Ms Bhutto each had two terms in power between 1988 and 1999.

If Mr Sharif forms an alliance with Ms Bhutto, he could cause major problems for Gen Musharraf and secure defections from the President's ruling party.

But Gen Musharraf's willingness to allow Mr Sharif to return may indicate that the President hopes to split the opposition vote.

Mr Sharif denies any such understanding, saying late on Sunday that he had 'made no deal with Musharraf'.

Analysts have questioned whether any alliance by Mr Sharif with Ms Bhutto, who has been a rival, will stand the test of time.

Mr Sharif is a religious conservative who once tried to have himself proclaimed 'commander of the faithful', while the secular Ms Bhutto is seen by the United States as pro-Western.

In any case, Mr Qayyum warned earlier that Mr Sharif could be ineligible for the elections because he was sentenced to life in jail on corruption and hijacking charges before he was banished in 2000.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

PUTTING UP A FIGHT

'We are concerned that elections will be rigged but we don't want to leave the field empty.'
MS BENAZIR BHUTTO