General elections by February 15: Musharraf

President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday said the general election in Pakistan will be held by February 15 next year and that he will doff uniform before taking oath for a second five-year term.

Talking to media persons after chairing a meeting of the National Security Council at the Aiwan-e-Sadr or presidency in Islamabad, Musharraf said he was committed to holding polls and a transition to 'full democratic civilian rule.'

The beleaguered military ruler's announcement came a day after US President George W Bush bluntly told Musharraf to quit as army chief and hold polls. The world community has stepped up pressure on Musharraf to end the emergency he had imposed on November 3 and restore fundamental rights and the Constitution.

Musharraf said the government had decided to hold simultaneous elections to the national and provincial assemblies on or before February 15 next year.

The government had reviewed the possibility of holding separate polls to the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies as their terms will end on different dates but decided against this, he said.

Asked when he would doff his uniform, Musharraf said the matter was now with the Supreme Court, which had directed the Election Commission not to notify the result of the October six presidential poll, which were swept by the General.
 
He said he would remove his uniform before taking oath for second term as President 'whenever the honourable court would allow the notification of the result.'

The National Security Council meeting was attended by the three armed forces' chiefs, including Gen Ashfaq Pervaiz Kiyani -- who is tipped to succeed Musharraf as Army Chief; ruling PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and top government officials.

Musharraf, who came to power in a military coup in 1999, had swept the October 6 presidential election that was boycotted by the opposition. The apex court barred the notification of the result till it decided on petitions challenging Musharraf's candidature.

The military ruler also said resistance against the government would not be tolerated, TV channels reported.

Minister of State for Information Tariq Azeem told Geo News that the Election Commission will decide the date for the polls. Azeem also said the emergency will be withdrawn 'very soon' and restrictions on the media, especially television news channels, will be lifted.

Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, a close aide of Musharraf, told media persons that there were 'different opinions' on holding the polls within the ruling PML-Q but the election must be held.

Earlier in the day, both PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Attorney General Malik Qayyum had said the election will be held in February. Qayyum had also said the emergency would be withdrawn in one to two months.