Musharraf willing to withdraw cases against Sharif

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has expressed willingness to drop the cases pending against exiled former premier Nawaz Sharif and other political leaders as part of his national reconciliation efforts.

Musharraf, who is seeking re-election for a five-year term in the October 6 Presidential ballot, told a private TV channel on Wednesday that he wanted to withdraw cases against Sharif under the National Reconciliation Ordinance. The former prime minister briefly returned home last month before being packed off to Jeddah.

His comments came a day after former premier Benazir Bhutto, who lives in self-imposed exile in London and Dubai, was offered amnesty by the government over the corruption charges against her.

Musharraf, who recently told the Supreme Court that he will give up his uniform if re-elected, said he would retain the position of army chief till November 15, the date when the national and provincial assemblies complete their tenures.

He is expected to win the presidential poll as the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q and allied parties have majority in the Parliament and the four provincial assemblies.

Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999 after toppling the Sharif government, on Wednesday appointed Lieutenant General Asfaq Pervez Kiyani to succeed him as the Army chief.

The Pakistan president also said that there was no difference of opinion between him and General Kiyani, a former chief of the ISI.

The existing assemblies will complete their terms and the general elections will be held two months after November 15, Musharraf said in the interview.

Musharraf said that Bhutto-led Pakistan Peoples Party could play a role in curbing extremism in the country. He also did not deny the United States playing a role in his talks with Bhutto on a possible power-sharing arrangement.