Pakistan has been wracked by sectarian violence in recent years, with thousands of people dying since major Sunni-Shiite clashes first erupted in the 1980s.
"A small incident can unleash violence on a big scale," Maulana Tahir Ashrafi, head of religious body the Pakistan Ulema Council, said last week.
Mahmood said the president, who led a military coup in 1999 and resigned as army chief only late last year, could provoke further unrest by trying to cling to power after the Feb. 18 polls.
"So far he has shown that he does not want to take any chances as far his power is concerned," he said.
RSS