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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Musharraf to 'quit as army chief' | Musharraf to 'quit as army chief' |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf plans to stand down as army chief by 15 November, an official from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) says. | Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf plans to stand down as army chief by 15 November, an official from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) says. |
| Gen Musharraf will resign from the powerful post after the presidential elections, said Mushahid Hussain Sayed, the PML's secretary general. | Gen Musharraf will resign from the powerful post after the presidential elections, said Mushahid Hussain Sayed, the PML's secretary general. |
| He is seeking re-election by parliament before its term expires in mid-October. | He is seeking re-election by parliament before its term expires in mid-October. |
| Pakistan's Supreme Court meanwhile is debating his right to remain army chief if he stands for president again. | Pakistan's Supreme Court meanwhile is debating his right to remain army chief if he stands for president again. |
| There has been no confirmation from Gen Musharraf himself about his intentions. | |
| The country's largest political party, Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, has been holding negotiations about a possible power-sharing deal in which they have demanded that he step down from his military role. | |
| Petitions | Petitions |
| "We expect that after his re-election process next month, God willing, Gen Musharraf would take his oath of office as a civilian president before November 15," said Mr Sayed. | |
| There has been growing opposition to Gen Musharraf's contention that he is constitutionally allowed to be both president and head of the army at the same time. | There has been growing opposition to Gen Musharraf's contention that he is constitutionally allowed to be both president and head of the army at the same time. |
| KEY DATES 23 Aug: Supreme Court says exiled ex-PM Nawaz Sharif can return10 Sep: Mr Sharif arrested and deported to Saudi Arabia on his return to Pakistan11 Sep: Lawyers for Mr Sharif challenge his deportation in the Supreme Court15 Sep-15 Oct: Timeframe Gen Musharraf has set for his re-election as president by parliament18 Oct: Date ex-PM Benazir Bhutto has set for her homecoming 15 November: Parliament expires and general election must be held | |
| The Supreme Court is hearing six petitions seeking to disqualify Gen Musharraf as a presidential candidate. | The Supreme Court is hearing six petitions seeking to disqualify Gen Musharraf as a presidential candidate. |
| The petitions have been filed by, among others, Pakistan's largest Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami, former cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan and an association of lawyers. | The petitions have been filed by, among others, Pakistan's largest Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami, former cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan and an association of lawyers. |
| The six petitions also oppose Gen Musharraf's plan to seek re-election by the outgoing parliament and provincial elections, saying there should be general elections first. | |
| Gen Musharraf's apparent promise to step down as army chief is not the first time he has made the claim. | |
| In 2002, he promised members of Pakistan's Islamic parties that he would resign as head of the army by 2004 in return for their support for a constitutional amendment legitimising his 1999 military takeover. | |
| The opposition believed that that the verbal promise was also enshrined in the amendment, an issue disputed by Gen Musharraf's advisers. | |
| But instead of keeping that promise, he succeeded in getting parliament to pass an act with a simple majority giving him a one-time exemption to stay on in office until November 2007. | |
| Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto announced on Friday that she intends to return to Pakistan from exile on 18 October to contest parliamentary elections, which must be held by mid-January. | Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto announced on Friday that she intends to return to Pakistan from exile on 18 October to contest parliamentary elections, which must be held by mid-January. |
| She was said to have been in negotiations with Gen Musharraf over a deal that would allow her a third term as prime minister in exchange for her support for his plan to be re-elected president. | She was said to have been in negotiations with Gen Musharraf over a deal that would allow her a third term as prime minister in exchange for her support for his plan to be re-elected president. |