Musharraf to 'quit army if elected'

There has been pressure on Gen Musharraf to resign his army post

In a statement to the Supreme Court, the lawyer said that if Gen Musharraf won the election, he would be sworn in for a new term as a civilian.

He is seeking re-election by parliament before its term expires in mid-October.

On Monday, the Supreme Court began debating his right to remain army chief if he stood for president again.

"If elected for a second term as president, General Pervez Musharraf shall relinquish charge of office of chief of army staff soon after election and before taking oath of office as president," his chief lawyer, Sharifuddin Pirzada, told the court.

The country's largest political party, Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP), has been holding negotiations about a possible power-sharing deal in which they have demanded that Gen Musharraf step down from his military role.

Petitions

On Monday, the Election Commission changed electoral rules that could help Gen Musharraf's re-election plans.

The court is hearing petitions that challenge Musharraf's dual role as president and army chief and his eligibility to run for re-election next month.

"If elected for the second term as president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf shall relinquish charge of the office of the chief of army staff soon after election, but before taking the oath of office of the president of Pakistan for the next term," Pirzada told the judges.

Musharraf's rivals — two former prime ministers now living in exile — are challenging Musharraf in court, as well as Monday's rule change by the Election Commission that allows Musharraf to seek a new term without first resigning his army role.

Officials in former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's party protested Musharraf's new plan.

"Gen. Musharraf's decision to get himself re-elected in uniform is both unconstitutional and undemocratic," party information secretary Sherry Rehman said.

Rehman said the party's lawmakers might resign in protest - a move that other opposition parties have vowed to take in order to deny Musharraf legitimacy - unless the government dropped corruption cases against Bhutto and other politicians and let her again run for prime minister.

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That article includes a prohibition against government servants running for election that some legal experts argue prevents Musharraf, who heads the army, from seeking another term. It also specifies that former government servants must wait for two years before they become eligible to run. Some argue that makes Musharraf ineligible even if he quits as army chief.

The commission said it was updating its rules to reflect Supreme Court rulings in 2002 and 2005 that Article 63 of the constitution did not apply to Musharraf.

"The chief election commissioner of Pakistan has made the requisite amendment, with the approval of the president," the commission said in a statement.

Several court challenges could render the Election Commission's actions moot.

On Monday, the Supreme Court resumed hearing six petitions, including one by Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan's largest Islamist group, on Musharraf's eligibility to stand again. The court's decision could override the actions of the Election Commission.

The announcement made in the Supreme Court was the first clear official statement that Pakistan's military leader plans to contest the upcoming election while in uniform, then relinquish it afterward.

Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup and has seen his popularity slide in recent months after a failed attempt to sack Pakistan's top judge, currently holds the office of both president and army chief.

Critics also cite a resurgence of Taliban and al-Qaida militants along the Afghan border as reasons why he should stand down from the army post, the main source of his power.

His current presidential term expires on 15 November. He is expected to seek another five-year term in a vote by all provincial and national lawmakers by 15 October. Many experts say that retaining the army position into the next term would violate Pakistan's constitution.

"If elected for the second term as president, General Pervez Musharraf shall relinquish charge of the office of the chief of army staff soon after election, but before taking the oath of office of the president of Pakistan for the next term," government attorney Sharifuddin Pirzada said.

Pirzada read the statement in the Supreme Court as it heard petitions that challenge Musharraf's holding of both offices and his eligibility for the presidential election.

Pirzada added that Musharraf's nomination paper for the election would be scrutinized by the chief election commissioner "independently and in accordance with the law."