ISLAMABAD A suicide bomber killed eight Pakistan air force staff as government forces said that they had wiped out 70 militants, compounding fears that President Musharraf could declare emergency rule.

The Supreme Court added to the tension by postponing its verdict on whether General Musharraf was eligible to stand for reelection while still army chief in a poll that he won easily last month. The mounting violence and political suspense coincided with a visit by Admiral William Fallon, the head of US Central Command, for talks with General Musharraf – a key ally in the War on Terror.

America and Britain are relying on General Musharraf to rein in Taleban and al-Qaeda militants sheltering in the lawless tribal areas of northwestern Pakistan, on the border with Afghanistan. But they fear that the former commando, who seized power in 1999, could cancel parliamentary elections in January that were supposed to herald a return to civilian democratic rule.

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