Musharraf to step down as Army chief with 48 hours

Aides to Pervez Musharraf announced he would retire on Wednesday as chief of Pakistan's army, while the embattled leader grappled with a political scene roiled by the return of an exiled former prime minister in time for key January elections.

Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted by the 1999 coup that put Musharraf in power, quickly registered on Monday to run in the election although he didn't drop his call for a boycott that could undermine the ballot's legitimacy.

Sharif appealed for support from Pakistanis unhappy with Musharraf's US alliance, portraying himself as a politician who kept himself at arms length from Washington in contrast to the US-friendly stance of the president and the other key opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto.

Even before Sharif's return on Sunday, Musharraf was under pressure from opposition forces and the US to end the emergency rule he imposed three weeks ago in this nuclear-armed nation of 160 million people beset by strengthening Islamic militants
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America and its allies want Musharraf to lift his suspension of the constitution to ensure a fair election, which they hope will produce a moderate government willing and capable of standing up to religious extremists with ties to al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Musharraf has eased the crackdown on dissent that saw police detain thousands of opponents and take independent TV news off air, and his aides announced on Monday that he was now ready to take the long-promised step of quitting his powerful army post and ending direct military rule.

Spokesperson Rashid Qureshi said Musharraf would make ''farewell visits'' to his troops before ending a military career that began in 1964.

Courtesy:ndtv.com
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