An election in Pakistan on January 8 appears "impossible" because of unrest following the killing of Benazir Bhutto, the the country's Election Commission said today.

The commission, which had been expected to confirm a date for the parliamentary polls today, said it would announce a new date on Wednesday after meeting with Pakistan's political parties.

President Pervez Musharraf will address the nation at 8pm (1500 GMT) tomorrow, his spokesman told the AFP news agency without giving details of what Musharraf would announce. Government and election officials earlier said they expect a delay of up to six weeks in the polls.

Today's announcement from the Election Commission could spark further violent protest by supporters of the main parties demanding that the elections go ahead as planned on January 8.

The Election Commission recommended a delay yesterday, saying that its offices in many districts of Sindh province had been burnt and that voting material, including electoral rolls, had been destroyed.

Polls are now expected to be held in the first week of March. The postponement is likely to cause alarm in America and other Western countries. The elections are perceived as a key step in the country’s transition to democracy.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), now led by Bhutto’s widower, Asif Ali Zardari, and their son, Bilawal, has demanded that the poll go ahead as planned. “We will not accept the delay even for one day,” said Farhatullah Babar, a party spokesman. He gave warning that the delay would trigger further violence. “We will resist any attempt to postpone the elections.”

Despite being in mourning, the PPP and other leading opposition groups want the polls to be held on time, perhaps sensing that significant electoral gains are possible amid widespread public sympathy over Bhutto’s death.

The PPP had announced that it would still take part in the elections despite the loss of its leader. Bhutto’s son, Bilawal, 19, was selected to succeed his mother as chairman. The other main opposition party, led by Nawaz Sharif, also favours holding the elections as scheduled.

Yesterday the Karachi stock market fell by 4.7 per cent on the first day of trading since Ms Bhutto’s asassination on Thursday.

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