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ISLAMABAD - Pervez Musharraf swore in a new caretaker government Friday to steer emergency-ruled Pakistan toward elections, but the new regime was swiftly rejected by former premier Benazir Bhutto.
Newly freed from house arrest, Bhutto said the administration, headed by a close Musharraf ally, was unacceptable and vowed to pursue her bid to force the military ruler from office.
The oath-taking ceremony came as a senior US official headed for Islamabad to press for an end to the state of emergency, which the opposition says will make the elections, due by early January, an unfair sham.
Musharraf hailed the previous government for stabilising Pakistan as he swore in the interim set-up, led by caretaker premier and Senate chairman Mohammedmian Soomro.
"Today we are creating history because I think never has Pakistan seen such a smooth transition of government," Musharraf, dressed in a traditional black tunic instead of his army uniform, said at the ceremony.
Parliament dissolved at midnight on Thursday after completing a five-year term for the first time in the nuclear-armed nation's turbulent history.
"I take pride in the fact that, being a man in uniform, I introduced the essence of democracy," he said.
Musharraf has promised legislative elections by January 9, but opposition leaders are considering a boycott -- and there is growing international anger at his refusal to end the state of emergency he imposed on November 3.
Hours earlier authorities withdrew a seven-day detention order on Bhutto, who had been holed up behind barbed wire at an aide's house in Lahore since Tuesday.
Bhutto came out with guns blazing, calling for a "people's revolution" to end Musharraf's eight-year rule and vowing to continue with the protest march that caused her to be detained in the first place.
"This caretaker government is an extension of the PML-Q and is not acceptable," she told a news conference, referring to Musharraf's party.
Bhutto said she was in talks with key political leaders, including exiled premier Nawaz Sharif, to try to form a united opposition front to replace the government.
"I believe it is hard to build a coalition but I will take on the task," Bhutto told reporters. "I talked to Nawaz Sharif and told him that I am discussing with all leaders the formation of an interim government."
State media said Asma Jahangir, chairwoman of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and a special UN rights rapporteur, had also been freed from house arrest.
The United States has led international calls for Musharraf to restore the constitution, step down as head of the powerful army, free thousands of people detained under emergency laws and ensure free and fair elections.
John Negroponte, number two to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, was due to arrive Friday to press US concerns. He was expected to meet Musharraf, but officials said he had no plans to meet Bhutto.
Washington has been signalling its growing impatience with Musharraf over emergency rule, which he said was necessary to tackle Islamic militancy and a meddling judiciary.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates even questioned his future effectiveness as a US ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Musharraf's "ability to continue to be a partner in the war on terror very much depends on how events unfold over the next few weeks in Pakistan," Gates said.
Senior US government officials quoted by the New York Times said they fear Musharraf may fall, and that Washington should consider contingency plans with Pakistan's military elite.
The United States had quietly backed Bhutto's return to the country last month and talks for a possible power-sharing deal with Musharraf.
However, Bhutto says the negotiations are over and vowed this week that she would never serve in a government with Musharraf. - AFP/ir
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