Pakistan's government warned on Wednesday of "extreme decisions" if the opposition resigns from parliament over President Pervez Musharraf's bid to be re-elected in uniform.
Opposition parties, including ex-premier Benazir Bhutto's, reacted angrily after Musharraf said on Tuesday that he would resign as army chief by mid-November - but only if the current parliament gives him a second term.
"If the opposition adopts an extremist policy, it could lead to extreme decisions which could be unfortunate for the country," Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid, told a private television.
The minister did not elaborate, but Musharraf has never ruled out the possibility of imposing a state of emergency or even martial law in Pakistan amid a six-month political crisis.
Musharraf nearly declared an emergency in August but held off under pressure from the United States, which backs his regime as a key ally in the fight against al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists. Pakistan People's Party reiterated Wednesday that it would resign from parliament if Musharraf seeks re-election as army chief from the current national and provincial assemblies.
"General Musharraf did not have any legitimacy in the presidency, only strength in the GHQ, and after Tuesday's statement he will lose even that," party spokesman Farhatullah Babar told AFP. "It is now only a matter of time that an illegitimate president deprived of his strength will go tumbling down." An alliance of other opposition parties including one loyal to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif - who was expelled from Pakistan last week after trying to return home - also said it would quit parliament.
"If we resign, the elctorate college will not be complete and the presidential election then cannot be called a legitimate exercise," senior Sharif party member Raja Zafarul Haq said. The government however insists it has enough seats to get Musharraf re-elected.