Islamabad: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf may quit as army chief as early as this weekend, the government's top lawyer said today. "The issue of President Musharraf's uniform is now a matter of days," Attorney General Malik Qayyum told reporters at the Supreme Court.

If the apex court announces its verdict on a petition challenging Musharraf's re-election in uniform by tomorrow and Friday, the President might doff his uniform by this weekend, Qayyum said.

The Attorney General also indicated that Musharraf was likely to take oath as early as Saturday or Sunday. The military ruler's re-election in the October six presidential poll was challenged in the Supreme Court though five of the six petitions were dismissed by Musharraf's hand-picked judges on November 19.

The remaining petition, described by legal experts as a minor one, will be taken up by the apex court tomorrow. Musharraf was unofficially declared the winner in the presidential election, which was boycotted by the opposition, but the Supreme Court had barred the Election Commission from issuing the official notification of the result till it decided on his candidature.

After declaring emergency on November three, Musharraf sacked most of the judges of the Supreme Court, including many of those who were hearing the case related to his re-election. New judges who endorsed the emergency were sworn in later.

Musharraf has insisted that he will take oath as a civilian president for his next term once the apex court validated his election victory. The Election Commission yesterday announced the schedule for the general election to be held on January 8.

Source : PTI