Musharraf to stay on as army chief
From CNN Producer Syed Mohsin Naqvi
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- In spite of his promise about a year ago and ongoing public protests, Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf said he will not step down as head of the country's military on Dec. 31.
Musharraf said he will address the nation within a few days and explain his reasons for retaining the powerful military post.
He had promised, in an address to the nation, that he would take off his military uniform.
That deadline is also set by Pakistan's constitution, which forbids him from holding two positions of power past the end of the year.
Opposition parties have called on Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 bloodless coup, to honor his commitment and abandon the post.
He made the pledge in return for Islamists' support in ratifying a series of controversial constitutional changes in the parliament granting him powers to dissolve the elected assembly.
The announcement was not unexpected. In October, Musharraf appointed an army second-in-command and another top general, seen as an indication he was not planning to step down as president or army chief.
The People's Party, which supports former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and the Pakistan Muslim League of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned Musharraf's decision, as well as his statement that neither Bhutto nor Sharif can return to the country.
A Bhutto spokesman told CNN early Sunday that genuine democratic leaders are being persecuted by Musharraf's regime, which aims to drive them out of the political field and mislead the public into believing Pakistan must either accept military dictatorship or face a religious dictatorship.
He said the genuine leaders are also kept out through tampering with electoral lists and making special laws with retroactive effects, an electoral exercise dismissed by the European Union as "seriously flawed".
Qazi Hussain Ahmed, president of Mutahidda Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), the Religious Party Alliance, told CNN he is asking Musharraf to set aside his uniform by Dec. 31.
Violating the constitution, he said, would result in serious consequences. If Musharraf does not, he said, the people of Pakistan and the judiciary will withhold approval to what he called Musharraf's unconstitutional acts.
If the situation is not rectified, he said, the rulers will be thrown out of power. His party will continue its struggle, he said, until the country's leaders comply with its constitution.
The MMA plans a public gathering later Sunday in Rawalpindi. Opposition party leaders are expected to attend.
