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Musharraf Tearfully Closes Military Career

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By MUNIR AHMAD, The Associated Press

Published: November 29, 2007

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - A tearful President Pervez Musharraf ended a four-decade military career Wednesday, giving up his army commander's ceremonial baton on the eve of taking an oath as the purely civilian president of Pakistan.

The United States, keen to promote democracy while keeping Pakistan focused on fighting Islamic extremism, praised Musharraf's relaxation of his grip on power as a "good step" forward.

But it gave him no slack on the other key demand that he end a state of emergency that has enraged political rivals, strained his close ties with the West and cast doubt on the ability of opposition parties to campaign for parliamentary elections in January.

"We welcome Musharraf's decision to shed the uniform," said former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, leader of one of the two main opposition parties. "Now the Pakistani army has got a full-fledged chief and they can better perform their duties."

But she said her party would "not take any decision in haste" on whether it could accept Musharraf as head of state.

Nawaz Sharif, another former prime minister and opposition leader, again rejected Musharraf's presidency, saying his presidential oath today would have "no legitimacy."

Musharraf relinquished command Wednesday at army headquarters in Rawalpindi, a garrison city near the capital, Islamabad. He handed over his baton to his hand-picked successor, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, a career officer who analysts expect to show his independence from the president.

Musharraf vouched for the abilities of Kayani, a former chief of Pakistan's feared ISI intelligence agency, saying that he had known him since he was a colonel.

Kayani, 55, a pro-Western officer, is expected to concentrate on Pakistan's effort against violent extremists.

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