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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Musharraf appoints army successor | Musharraf appoints army successor |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has named his successor to take over as army chief, the military says. | Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has named his successor to take over as army chief, the military says. |
| The appointee is former head of intelligence Lt Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kiani, military spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad told the BBC. | The appointee is former head of intelligence Lt Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kiani, military spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad told the BBC. |
| Gen Musharraf will resign as head of the army if he wins presidential elections on Saturday, his lawyers say. | Gen Musharraf will resign as head of the army if he wins presidential elections on Saturday, his lawyers say. |
| Opposition parties say his candidacy is illegal and that he has broken previous promises to resign as army chief. | Opposition parties say his candidacy is illegal and that he has broken previous promises to resign as army chief. |
| Lt Gen Kiani has been appointed deputy chief of army staff and will take over the top post when it falls vacant, the military says. | Lt Gen Kiani has been appointed deputy chief of army staff and will take over the top post when it falls vacant, the military says. |
| Lt Gen Ashfaq Kiani has been appointed the chief of army staff-designate Maj Gen Waheed Arshad, Military spokesman | Lt Gen Ashfaq Kiani has been appointed the chief of army staff-designate Maj Gen Waheed Arshad, Military spokesman |
| It is not clear when that will be. | |
| Gen Musharraf's lawyers told the Supreme Court last week that he would stand down as army chief "soon after election and before taking the oath of office as president". | |
| Lt Gen Kiani headed Pakistan's notorious Inter-Services Intelligence agency from 2004 until last month. | |
| He took part in secret talks recently on a possible power sharing deal between President Musharraf and former PM Benazir Bhutto. | He took part in secret talks recently on a possible power sharing deal between President Musharraf and former PM Benazir Bhutto. |
| His appointment will be closely watched in Washington which has been putting pressure on Pakistan to do more in the US-led "war on terror". | |
| Boycott | Boycott |
| The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Karachi says Lt Gen Kiani earned Gen Musharraf's confidence when he headed the investigation into two attempts on the president's life in December 2003, bringing a number of suspects to trial in a secret military court. | |
| News of his appointment came as scores of opposition MPs resigned from Pakistan's national parliament and provincial assemblies in protest at Saturday's presidential election. | |
| KEY DATES 06 Oct: Presidential vote to be held, election commission says 18 Oct: Date ex-PM Benazir Bhutto has set for her homecoming 15 Nov: Parliamentary term ends and general election must be held | KEY DATES 06 Oct: Presidential vote to be held, election commission says 18 Oct: Date ex-PM Benazir Bhutto has set for her homecoming 15 Nov: Parliamentary term ends and general election must be held |
| They insist that President Pervez Musharraf is ineligible to stand. | They insist that President Pervez Musharraf is ineligible to stand. |
| Correspondents say that the resignations make it even more certain that Gen Musharraf will win the vote. | Correspondents say that the resignations make it even more certain that Gen Musharraf will win the vote. |
| Members who resigned from the assemblies on Tuesday were drawn mainly from the alliance of Islamic parties, the MMA, and the PML-N party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. | |
| "We are handing over the resignations today because we consider the election of the president is illegal and unconstitutional," one leading MP, Liaquat Baloch, said, the AFP news agency reports. | "We are handing over the resignations today because we consider the election of the president is illegal and unconstitutional," one leading MP, Liaquat Baloch, said, the AFP news agency reports. |
| The MPs hope the resignations will make the presidential election be seen to be meaningless. | The MPs hope the resignations will make the presidential election be seen to be meaningless. |
| "This is the first step to discredit the election process," said former cricket star and MP Imran Khan, whose party is part of the opposition APDM alliance. | |
| Gen Musharraf's election plans are illegal, critics say | |
| The country's biggest party is the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. It is not taking part in the boycott. | The country's biggest party is the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. It is not taking part in the boycott. |
| Meanwhile two rival candidates for Saturday's election have filed fresh petitions in the Supreme Court against Gen Musharraf's candidacy. | |
| Last Friday the court dismissed a number of petitions, in a move seen as a major victory for the president. | |
| The president is elected by MPs from the national assembly and Pakistan's four provincial assemblies. | |
| The petitions filed by lawyers representing two candidates standing against President Musharraf, retired Judge Wajihuddin Ahmed and Makhdoom Amin - vice chairman of the PPP - say that the president is not eligible to stand while also remaining head of the army. | The petitions filed by lawyers representing two candidates standing against President Musharraf, retired Judge Wajihuddin Ahmed and Makhdoom Amin - vice chairman of the PPP - say that the president is not eligible to stand while also remaining head of the army. |