Islamabad: Under pressure from certain quarters to shed the Army uniform, Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf will reach New York tomorrow (Sep 18, 2004) to launch a media blitzkrieg to create a favourable international opinion for his proposal to continue as President and Army Chief.

Musharraf, who is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly only on Wednesday (Sep 22, 2004), has a busy schedule which includes interviews to the mainstream US media, bilateral meetings and interaction with US legislators, official media reports said in Islamabad today (Sep 18, 2004).

The General is likely to meet US President George W Bush on Wednesday and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a day later, official APP news agency said. He will also address a meeting of expatriate Pakistanis in Washington.

Significantly, the thrust of his current New York visit appears to be not much on his first meeting with Singh or to queer the pitch over Kashmir as in the past but more on an apparent decision to continue as Chief of Army disregarding his public commitment last year and a quid pro quo deal with Islamist alliance Muttahida Majlis Amal (MMA) to ratify his constitutional reforms.

MMA has said that it would not support any resolution encouraging the president to retain his uniform after December 31.

Musharraf has already sought to soften the ground at home with interviews to local media as also to international publications indicating that he would not give up the Army uniform by December.