Islamabad, Pakistan ? Election officials said Thursday that President Pervez Musharraf would seek re-election by lawmakers to a five-year term Oct. 6, even though his bid is clouded by legal challenges and widespread disdain.

The announcement of the date for elections came as the Supreme Court heard another day of arguments from opponents seeking to have the Pakistani leader disqualified from standing for office while serving as army chief.

It also came as al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden issued a new audiotape calling on Pakistanis to rise up against the president’s rule.

Musharraf seized power in a 1999 coup and after the Sept. 11, 2001 , attacks became a key U.S. ally against the Taliban and al-Qaida.

Pakistani officials have not said publicly whether the general will abide by the Supreme Court’s ruling, which is expected in the next few days. Many observers fear that if the verdict goes against Musharraf, he might respond by dissolving parliament or imposing emergency rule or martial law.

The vote for president is to be held by lawmakers from the national and provincial assemblies, which Musharraf controls. Some opposition parties have said they will boycott the vote. However, the president’s party says that even without them it has enough votes to re-elect him.

The 64-year-old general presents himself as a bulwark against Islamic extremism, a stance that may have been bolstered by new threats against him from bin Laden and the Qaida leader’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri .

Al-Qaida’s singling out of Musharraf as its enemy “doesn’t do anything to hurt his standing as an ally in the war on terror,” said a Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In the audiotape released Thursday, bin Laden exhorts Pakistanis to take vengeance against Musharraf’s regime for July’s storming of a radical mosque in the capital, Islamabad, by government troops. More than 100 people died in the siege of the Red Mosque.

It was the third message from bin Laden this month.

Pakistani government officials dismissed the threats against Musharraf. “It will not have any effect on our activities in fighting terror,” said the chief military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad.