Pakistan's political crisis appeared to stabilise today ahead of a rescheduled election in which the party of the late Benazir Bhutto is expected to make gains.
There were no reports of protests against an Election Commission decision yesterday to postpone the general election to February 18th despite the objections of the two main opposition parties, which wanted it held on schedule next Tuesday.
"Incidents of violence have gone down, in that sense one can say the situation is better. But the central issues which are dividing the nation remain, and the most divisive figure is [President] Musharraf himself," said former government minister Shafqat Mahmood.
The murder of Mrs Bhutto last week and the violence that followed has fuelled doubts about stability and the transition to democratic rule in nuclear-armed Pakistan.
But Gen Musharraf's acceptance of opposition demands for outside help with the investigation into the assassination appear to have helped restore calm. He announced yesterday that British police would take part in the inquiry into the killing being blamed on al-Qaeda-linked militants.
Many Pakistanis believe other Bhutto enemies, perhaps in sections of the security agencies, were involved, fuelling anger against Gen Musharraf whose popularity had already slumped.
Gen Musharraf rejected the claims saying there have been 19 suicide bombings in the last three months, mostly targeting the military and intelligence services.
"If the same military and same intelligence is using the same people who are attacking them, it's a joke," Gen Musharraf said.
The election had been regarded as a three-way race between Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP), the other main opposition party led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and the party that backs Gen Musharraf.
The PPP is expected to ride a wave of sympathy but analysts are unsure how much that might abate over the next six weeks.
It was also unclear if the party would pick up more votes in its strongholds, which would not necessarily translate into more seats, or make inroads into vote of other parties.
Mr Sharif, who has allied himself closely to the PPP since Ms Bhutto's death, is also likely to make gains at the expense of the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League.
Gen Musharraf, whose re-election as president in October is still disputed by the opposition, will need support in the next parliament and is likely to have to renew efforts to reach an understanding with Ms Bhutto's party, analysts said.