Islamabad  - The campaign for next month's presidential race in Pakistan kicked off on Tuesday with three major players filing their nominations as the power struggle intensified, threatening the internal security of the country.

Dozens of party workers gathered outside the Election Commission of Pakistan as Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who has headed her Pakistan peoples Party (PPP) since she was assassinated late last year in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, submitted his nomination papers.

Wana (Pakistan), Aug 26 : Exactly a day after the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had called for a ceasefire in the Bajaur Agency, the extremist group led by pro-government militant commander Maulvi Nazir last evening announced a unilateral ceasefire in the South Waziristan Agency (SWA) following fierce clashes with security forces.

Islamabad, Aug 26 : After Nawaz Sharif pulled out of the PPP-led coalition yesterday, PPP senior leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim and JUI’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman seem to emerge as the key players in the run up to the presidential election in Pakistan in which PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari stands a tough contender.

According to The News, Zardari’s success in the presidential election will be “seriously jeopardized” if Fazlur Rehman sticks to his publicly announced word that he “cannot work with a man who does not honour his spoken or even written accords”.

Karachi - Pakistan stocks suffered the biggest setback of the year Tuesday, plunging by 4 per cent amid mounting political uncertainty deepened by the break-up of the ruling coalition, traders said.

Traders said the collapse of the alliance in the parliament and conflicting statements from other small, but key partners of the coalition raised concerns about the fragile democratic system.

"There is an air of uncertainty hanging over the presidential elections," said Ahsan Mehnti, chief executive at Shahzad Chamdia Securities.