Step down as Army Chief: Commonwealth

Islamabad, Sep 20: Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon has reiterated that President Pervez Musharraf should step down as Army Chief by the end of 2007.

McKinnon is on a three-day visit to Pakistan to assess the political situation ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections.

He held separate meetings with Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri.

Musharraf told McKinnon that he would remove his uniform if re-elected for another term and would be sworn in as a civilian head of state, a news agency reported.

McKinnon said that he was reassured by a statement filed on his (Musharraf"s) behalf in the SC about his decision to relinquish his army position if he was re-elected as President.

McKinnon called for a democratic set up and fair elections, the Daily Times reported.

He told Kasuri that the C"wealth wanted Musharraf to deliver his commitment made to the nation on his uniform.

ANI>