Pakistan's main political alliance says it will boycott an upcoming referendum on whether to extend the rule of President Pervez Musharaff, the army general who seized power in a 1999 army coup. 

General Musharraf, who has been a strong U.S. ally in the war on terrorism, announced the referendum last week, saying it will be held in May. The vote is to decide whether he will remain in power after national legislative elections set for October. 

In Islamabad Sunday, alliance chief Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan said the 15-party alliance will use peaceful means to oppose the referendum, which he said violates Pakistan's constitution. 

Mr. Khan said the alliance has asked former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to return from exile to boost the chances of a successful boycott. But General Musharraf has already said he will not allow either former leader to take part in legislative elections. 

It remains unclear what effect a boycott will have on the referendum. 

Many Pakistanis welcomed the Musharraf coup, which came after years of widespread claims of rampant corruption by past governments. 

Several parties, including a renegade faction of Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League, have declared support for General Musharraf's leadership. 

Critics are on record as opposing the Musharraf referendum because the constitution says a president must be elected by Pakistan's two-chamber parliament and four provincial assemblies. They also have said General Musharraf should not be president while remaining army chief of staff. 

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.

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