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Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf stepped down as Army chief last night and will be sworn in as a civilian leader for a second five-year term today.
Musharraf passed the baton of command to his hand-picked successor, General Ashfaq Kiyani, at a ceremony at Army headquarters in Rawalpindi.
In doing so he has fulfilled one of the long-held demands of his political rivals and Western allies, taking off the uniform he has referred to as his "second skin" and becoming a civilian president ahead of national elections in January.
"The system continues, people come and go, everyone has to go, every good thing comes to an end, everything is mortal," a sombre-looking Musharraf said at the change-of-command ceremony. He now aims to become a civilian president with a new prime minister heading the Government after the January 8 poll.
For Musharraf, who seized control of Pakistan in a 1999 coup, command of the Army has been his main source of power. "Many believe that giving away the core source of his strength, the command of a disciplined and professional army which was at his beck and call in every crisis, may prove to be an insurmountable weakness," the News newspaper said.
For the time being, Musharraf will retain powers under the emergency rule he declared on November 3. He transferred those powers to the presidency.
- Reuters
