Uniform is "my skin", Musharraf says amid re-election debate

May 22, 2007, 14:15 GMT

Islamabad - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has given a strong indication that he will seek re-election by parliament while still serving as armed forces chief, saying he is inseparable from his uniform, the BBC reported Tuesday.

'Uniform has now become my skin, how could I separate myself from it?' the general told the broadcaster's Urdu service in an interview.

The military had not entered Pakistani politics of its own will but was invited to tend civil administration, said Musharraf, who is under pressure from the opposition, rights groups and foreign governments to step down as army head before seeking a further five- year term from the current loyal assembly this autumn.

The armed forces had consolidated Pakistan but the opposition was now creating negative propaganda against them, said Musharraf, who came to power with the bloodless overthrow of prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999.

In a recent interview with a Pakistani television channel, the president said that if a two-thirds majority of parliament approved his retention of power as army chief, 'that is the spirit of democracy and will of the people - and is in accordance with the Constitution.'

Pakistan this week protested to acting British High Commissioner Robert Brinkley over his remarks that Britain sought the restoration of 'full democracy' in the country and advised Musharraf to separate the offices of the president and army chief as demanded by the Commonwealth.

Such remarks were 'tantamount to interference in Pakistan's internal affairs,' a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in Islamabad.

The presence of the army in various institutions was rightful, Musharraf said, adding that 'when politicians do not know how to run the country's affairs then the army has no choice but to just step in and put things right.'

But he stressed his belief in democracy and said he wanted to take the opposition along in decision-making but that it was more interested in staging protest rallies.

Turning to the current judicial crisis over his suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, Musharraf said he would wait for and respect the verdict of the full Supreme Court bench on the matter.

Chaudhry's removal has united opposition forces against the president, stirred nationwide protests and led to recent clashes between rival political factions in Karachi that left almost 50 people dead.

But Musharraf did not answer when asked if he would reinstate the judge if he were vindicated of charges of misconduct.