President Pervez Musharraf paid a ceremonial farewell to his troops Tuesday, a day before he bows to world wide pressure and quits as army chief to become a civilian leader. Amid mounting anger over his three-week-old state of emergency, the embattled US ally received guards of honour as he launched a two-day valedictory tour of the army, navy and air force.
He is to resign as chief of army staff on Wednesday. The next day he will take the oath for a second five-year term as president - this time without the uniform that he has described as being like his skin.
A military band played martial tunes and the national anthem as Musharraf visited the joint staff headquarters in Rawalpindi. Soldiers marched past and saluted Musharraf, who wore ceremonial dress, medals and a green sash. Musharraf later received colourful send-offs at the headquarters of the air force and navy in Islamabad and exchanged souvenirs with senior commanders.
"It's part of army tradition that the outgoing chief visits the troops and thanks them for their services before relinquishing his command," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Baseer Haider told AFP.
"The command changing ceremony will take place tomorrow." On Wednesday, Musharraf will be driven to the army's general headquarters to hand over his position as head of the nuclear-armed military to his heir apparent, former ISI chief General Ashfaq Kiyani.
Interior ministry spokesman Javed Cheema said Musharraf's transition to civilian life would not affect Pakistan's efforts to combat militancy. "Uniform or no uniform it would not impact our war on terror," Cheema said. But the move is unlikely to placate opposition leaders who are threatening to boycott elections set for January 8 amid one of the most serious political crises since Pakistan's formation 60 years ago.
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