Official: Musharraf to shed uniform by weekend (2nd Roundup)

Nov 20, 2007, 14:14 GMT

Islamabad - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will likely commence a further five-year term later this week after stepping down as army chief, Attorney General Malik Qayyum said in Islamabad Tuesday.

'He will be sworn in as a civilian president, there is no doubt about it,' Qayyum told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, adding that the ceremony could take place on Friday or Saturday, depending on the imminent ruling of the Supreme Court on Musharraf's October 6 re-election.

The court, which was reformed under the state of emergency imposed by the president on November 3, this week threw out several petitions challenging his eligibility to run for office while still serving in the army.

A final petition is due to be heard on Thursday and is also expected to be dismissed.

In the southern port city of Karachi on Tuesday, police baton- charged journalists protesting curbs on the media imposed as part of the emergency, arresting more then 150 people, news reports said.

Several demonstrators were injured in the clashes, which occurred outside the city's press club, Geo News reported on its website, the television channel's only service still operating after it was shut down by the government at midnight Friday.

Geo and the private ARY news channel were closed after they refused to accept self-censorship requirements. Other Pakistani and foreign broadcasters had their transmissions blocked under the emergency measures.

US Ambassador Anne Patterson visited the offices of Geo on Monday during a trip to Karachi to consult with opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

The arrests of the journalists followed an announcement by the Interior Ministry that it had released 3,400 people detained during the emergency.

The step was part of an ongoing process to ease the crisis and reflected an improvement in the law and order situation in the country, Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said.

Another 2,000 members of the opposition, lawyers and other categories would be released 'soon'.

However, opposition parties claim around 15,000 of their supporters were arrested in roundups and at demonstrations this month.

Concerning the dozen members of the old Supreme Court, including former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, who have been confined to their official residences since November 3, Cheema said they were 'free to go to their homes if they want to.' But he did not say if they would be allowed to move freely elsewhere.

The opposition has demanded the reinstatement of the old judiciary.

Musharraf, an army general who seized power in a 1999 coup and became a key US counter-terrorism ally, is also under intense pressure at home and abroad to hang up his uniform before stating a second term.

The opposition, the United States, Britain and the European Union have called for an end to the emergency, which Musharraf says was necessary to stem Islamic militancy and terrorism. But his critics say it was aimed at preventing the former Supreme Court judges from annulling his re-election.

All sides have also called for the restoration of the constitution and the freedom of the media, the release of political prisoners and free and fair general elections of a new parliamentary assembly in polls now scheduled for January 8.

The date was announced Tuesday by Chief Election Commissioner Qazi Muhammad Farooq, who said parties must submit nomination papers before November 27 and that lists of approved candidates would be announced on December 16.

Musharraf has previously warned that the emergency could be maintained through the polls in view of the security situation.

A latest call for an end to the emergency, issued by the EU, was bluntly rebuffed by Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, which said it 'ignores the ground realities and fails to show understanding of the extraordinary situation that necessitated emergency for maintaining political stability and preserving the on-going political process in the country.'

Meanwhile, the president on Tuesday flew to Saudi Arabia on a two-day visit for talks with King Abdullah over the political crisis and for possible contacts with Pakistani opposition leader Nawaz Sharif.

Saudi Arabia, where Sharif has lived in exile since Musharraf ousted him from power in 1999, has strong ties with Pakistan.

The ex-premier was arrested and deported from his homeland on September 10 during an abortive attempt to end his seven-year absence and lead the opposition against Musharraf.

Sharif was Pakistan's prime minister twice between 1990 and 1999.

His Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party is one of several that have threatened to boycott the elections.

Pakistan's All-Parties Democratic Movement, which includes the PML-N and an alliance of religious groups, this week decided not to attend a meeting called by the election commission to discuss a code of conduct for the polls.