Islamabad: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has rejected Opposition parties' demands to quit as the Chief of Army and withdraw his controversial Constitutional amendments, officials said.

While Musharraf had earlier reportedly indicated his desire to continue as Chief of Army till October 2004 and then consider quitting the post, the latest media reports quoting officials said he has decided to carry on as the President and the Chief of Army, and also not to compromise on the status of his Constitutional amendments.

The officials said Musharraf has made it clear that he would not take off his military uniform and that he would simultaneously be serving as the President and the Chief of the Army staff. They said he believed that military uniform was important to keep the cohesion among armed forces.

He also reportedly informed the pro-military politicians, who were negotiating with the Opposition on the Legal Framework Order (LFO), which incorporated his Constitutional amendments, that he would not compromise on them and press ahead with their implementation.

Musharraf has decided to press ahead with the LFO defending that a system of checks and balances was extremely important for Pakistan to strike a balance.

The President had ruled out the possibility of any change in the LFO as being demanded by the Opposition, local daily 'Dawn' quoted the officials as saying.

He has also conveyed to Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and other ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) leaders that he would not scrap the National Security Council (NSC), which comprised of the top military officials, the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers.

PTI