Pakistan ? Pakistan opposition parties took commanding leads in unofficial returns early today in Parliamentary elections, heading toward a victory that could challenge President Pervez Musharraf’s rule eight years after seizing power in a military coup.

Monday’s balloting was aimed at bolstering democracy and ending a yearlong political crisis, but fear and apathy kept millions of voters at home.

The government confirmed 24 election-related deaths over the past 36 hours. But the country was spared the type of Islamic militant violence that scarred the campaign – most notably the assassination of the charismatic opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto.

State-run television early today gave the two main opposition parties strong leads in early unofficial tallies, a trend conceded by the president’s Pakistan Muslim League-Q party. Final official results were not expected before Wednesday.