Army: Musharraf Will Leave Military Role
Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf will likely step down as chief of the country's powerful army on Wednesday, army spokesman Maj.-Gen. Waheed Arshad said Monday.
Arhsad said Musharraf would take his oath as reelected civilian president on Nov. 29th, and will "most probably" take off his uniform a day before that.
Musharraf's resignation as military leader has been a chief demand of civilian opposition leaders who have been threatening to boycott parliamentary elections in January, which should see a new government and prime minister installed to work underneath Musharraf.
Arshad's statement was the first from the military naming a date for him to restore direct civilian rule.
Earlier Monday, former Prime Minister and key Musharraf opponent Nawaz Sharif, fresh from a triumphant return from exile, said he would not lead a government under Pakistan's embattled president.
"I am not (a) candidate for prime ministership under Pervez Musharraf," Sharif told reporters at his home, shortly before he registered as a candidate in critical January parliamentary elections.
Sharif signed his nomination papers at a court in the eastern city of Lahore. Supporters packed into the courtroom chanted "Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif!"
Sharif's surprise return to Pakistan from exile Sunday poses a major threat to Musharraf, the man who ousted him in a 1999 coup and became a key U.S. ally against international terrorism.
Sharif and other opposition leaders are threatening to boycott the Jan. 8 parliamentary elections. But even if they take part, Sharif's harsh rhetoric suggests Musharraf faces a bumpy ride as he tries to prolong his eight-year rule.
Musharraf is expected to step down as chief of Pakistan's powerful army this week and continue as a civilian - a key demand of his domestic and international critics.
But Sharif insisted Musharraf would have to reinstate Supreme Court judges purged under emergency rule and obtain their approval before he would be "acceptable" to his party.
He also accused authorities of rigging the elections to benefit the ruling party.
"We don't want to boycott elections, but if you push someone to the wall ... what options are left?" Sharif said at his country estate outside the eastern city of Lahore.
"We demand restoration of all judges, lifting of curbs on media, lifting of emergency before elections," he said.
Sharif arrived from Saudi Arabia, where has spent most of his eight years in exile.
In September, Musharraf swiftly booted Sharif back to the kingdom when he flew into Pakistan. But Musharraf appears to have lost the support of the Saudi royal family, who provided a special flight to carry Sharif and a host of his relatives home.
Security forces had rounded up some Sharif activists and attempted to seal off the airport ahead of his arrival on Sunday, but 1,000 supporters found a way through the tight security around the airport to swarm into the terminal building, waving the green flag of his party and shouting "Musharraf, go!"
Hundreds more gathered outside the airport perimeter fence and along the route into the city, where loudspeakers mounted on trucks were blaring out patriotic songs.
Both Bhutto and Sharif are seeking to return to power after the parliamentary elections. But the ballot, which the West hopes will produce a moderate government able to stand up to Islamic extremism, has been thrown into confusion by Musharraf's Nov. 3 seizure of emergency powers.
Major opposition parties - including Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party - have been lining up to take part in the elections with preliminary steps such as filing nomination papers.
But Bhutto and Sharif could still agree to boycott the vote. Bhutto said Friday she had not yet decided whether to participate.