Pakistan's reformed Supreme Court has dismissed five out of six challenges to Pervez Musharraf's possible re-election as president.
Pakistan's reshaped Supreme Court has dismissed the main challenges to Gen Pervez Musharraf being allowed a second term as president.
The remaining challenge will be heard later in the week.
He has promised to resign as head of the army after the court validates his victory in October's presidency poll.
General Musharraf has promised to resign as army chief if the new court validates his presidency.
He sacked a number of independently-minded judges who had been due to consider the case.
Correspondents say he is expected to win this case after purging the court under emergency powers he invoked on 3 November and appointing new judges.
The judgements come a day after senior US envoy John Negroponte urged Gen Musharraf to lift emergency rule.
The judgements come a day after senior US envoy John Negroponte urged Gen Musharraf to lift emergency rule and free opponents ahead of elections due in January.
Mr Negroponte also urged him to free opponents ahead of elections due in January.
Gen Musharraf has insisted the emergency can only be lifted once the security situation improves.
Gen Musharraf has insisted the emergency, imposed on 3 November, can only be lifted once the security situation improves.
Attorney General Malik Qayyum said that five petitions against Gen Musharraf's re-election have been dismissed. The one remaining petition will be heard on Thursday, he said.
One of the petitioners challenging Gen Musharraf's re-election Makhdoom Amin Fahim of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said earlier that had withdrawn his petition.
It was not clear whether this appeal was among the five challenges that Mr Qayyum dismissed on Monday.
Lack of confidence
Lack of confidence
The legal challenge to Gen Musharraf's re-election is being heard by a new 10-member bench of the Supreme Court. Most judges on the previous bench refused to take an oath after the declaration of emergency rule.
Attorney General Malik Qayyum said that five petitions against Gen Musharraf's re-election had been dismissed.
A separate six-member bench of judges will hear two petitions challenging the rule of emergency.
A sixth petition was brought by a civil servant, Zahoor Mahdi, who wanted to be considered eligible to stand in October's presidential election.
The case came up before a nine-member bench last week, but three of the judges declined to sit on the bench.
That petition will be heard on Thursday, the attorney general says.
They said their recent judgements were quoted by Gen Musharraf in support of his decision to impose emergency.
The legal challenge to Gen Musharraf's re-election is being heard by a new 10-member bench of the Supreme Court.
Gen Musharraf has promised to step down as army chief once the Supreme Court validates his new term as president.
Most judges on the previous bench refused to take an oath after the declaration of emergency rule.
A separate six-member bench of judges is considering two petitions challenging the emergency.
