Musharraf to give up army post if re-elected

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — President Gen. Pervez Musharraf will resign as army chief and restore civilian rule if lawmakers re-elect him president in a vote expected by mid-October, officials said Tuesday.

The government hailed the decision as a democratic watershed, but the opposition said it would be illegal for Musharraf to run in uniform and threatened a boycott of the vote that could prolong Pakistan's political instability.

Government attorney Sharifuddin Pirzada announced Musharraf's intent in a statement to Supreme Court judges deliberating the military leader's eligibility to seek a new five-year term.

It was the first clear official statement that Musharraf was ready to end direct military rule since he seized control of the Islamic world's only declared nuclear power in a coup eight years ago.

"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 said.

The move could ease fears that Musharraf, a key U.S. ally in its war in terrorism, is veering toward authoritarian rule as Pakistan approaches critical elections.

Last week, he deported Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister he deposed in 1999, hours after the opposition leader returned from exile, despite a Supreme Court ruling saying Sharif was free to come back. Allies of the president have also repeatedly warned that he could declare a state of emergency to prevent chaos.

Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani said the announcement proved that Musharraf, Pakistan's third military ruler in its 60-year history, believed in democracy.

"This is the first time in Pakistan's history that the army will retreat (from government) through a smooth transition to a complete and real democracy," Durrani said.

Mushahid Hussain, secretary-general of ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q party, predicted Musharraf's decision "will lower the political temperature" and said Pakistan had moved on from a spell of military rule that damaged its international image.

But with the opposition digging in its heels and legal challenges still hanging over Musharraf's re-election bid, the announcement looked unlikely to calm Pakistan's choppy political waters. Musharraf made a similar promise to resign as army chief in 2004 and later reneged on it.