ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 18 A Pakistan ruling party official expects President Pervez Musharraf to give up his army chief post if re-elected, a report said Tuesday.
It is the clearest indication the embattled president, who took power after staging a bloodless coup in 1999, will give up his army title after elections next month with his presidential term set to end Nov. 15, The Telegraph reported.
"We expect that after his re-election process next month, God willing, Gen. Musharraf would take his oath of office as a civilian president before Nov. 15," Mushahid Hussain Sayed, secretary-general of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, said. "Yes, I have no doubt that the president will keep his commitment."
The announcement about Musharraf's plans comes at a time when Pakistan's Supreme Court has started hearings on petitions challenging his candidacy, the British newspaper said.
Musharraf is facing numerous political problems and rising extremist violence. He is also under Western pressure to make a power-sharing deal with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who plans to return from exile next month.
The Telegraph said if the Supreme Court rejects Musharraf's eligibility to seek re-election even as a civilian, he may be forced to quit or impose emergency rule.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
