Pakistan President Retains Army Post

Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, yesterday reneged on a promise to stand down as army chief at the end of the year.

In a setback for Pakistan's transition from military government to democracy, Gen Musharraf decided to remain both president and chief of staff, though there was no suggestion that he would retain the military position indefinitely.

"The president has decided to keep both offices, of the president and the army chief, beyond December 31," the information minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, said.

Asked why the decision to step down, announced last December, had been reversed, Sheikh Ahmed said: "The situation has changed."

Gen Musharraf had been preparing the ground for his decision by dropping hints in the media.

He took power in a coup in 1999 and initially was treated as a pariah by many countries, including the UK. But his support for the US in the war against terrorism, especially the removal of the Taliban in Afghanistan, saw him restored to favour in Washington, London and other capitals.

Although he restored parliamentary elections in 2002, he has the power to depose the prime minister and dissolve the parliament.

The Foreign Office said last night that the change of heart had to be seen as part of a wider picture: "Our view is that the separation of the role of president and the chief of army staff will be an important element of the transition [to democracy]," a spokesman said. But he added: "We recognise it will take time for democratic politics to take root."

Pakistan's opposition leaders denounced Gen Musharraf as a dictator. He promised to give up his army post last December after he came under pressure from opposition groups calling for the country to adopt stricter Islamist policies.

The Commonwealth automatically slapped a ban on Pakistan after the coup. The country only won a return to full membership before the summer.