Musharraf sets army exit date
General Pervez Musharraf to give up Pakistan army uniform on Wednesday and be sworn in as civilian president on the following day
Also In The News
|
Parlophone, out November 26th. |  |
Monday, 26, Nov 2007 08:06
General Pervez Musharraf will step down as the head of Pakistan's army on Wednesday, a day before being sworn in as a civilian president.
Gen Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, has repeatedly faced calls from opposition politicians to leave his army post.
He was elected as president in October, but his second term was delayed by legal challenges to his candidature at the supreme court.
The general declared emergency rule at the beginning of November amid rumours Pakistan's highest court would rule in favour of the complainants and agree that Gen Musharraf could not stand for president while being army chief.
This suspension of the constitution allowed Gen Musharraf to replace hostile judges on the supreme court, with challenges to his candidature ultimately thrown out earlier this month.
And this weekend Pakistan's electoral commission confirmed his election as president, paving the way for an end to his emergency powers and a resumption of civilian rule.
"He is going to take oath as has been announced by government on the 29th, most probably, so he is going to take off his uniform a day before that," Major General Waheed Arshad was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.
Maj Gen Arshad's comments mark the first time the military has confirmed Gen Musharraf will give up his army position.
Gen Musharraf's coup of 1999, which saw then prime minister Nawaz Sharif overthrown, initially drew international condemnation, but in the years following the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001 his pledge to support George Bush's US-led war on terror saw Pakistan lose its American label as a rogue state.
In declaring emergency rule in November Gen Musharraf cited domestic instability following a spate of terrorist attacks and judicial interference.
Opposition politicians, including Mr Sharif and another former prime minister Benazir Bhutto – both of whom have returned form exile to challenge Gen Musharraf – have said that parliamentary elections scheduled for January 8th can not go ahead unless emergency rule is ended and Pakistan has a civilian ruler.