Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf may quit as Army Chief by the weekend, the Attorney General Malik Muhammad Qayyum said on Wednesday.

 

If the Supreme Court announces verdict by Thursday or Friday, then Musharraf may doff uniform by the weekend, Malik Qayyum said when talking to reporters at the Supreme Court building.

 

"The issue of President Musharraf uniform is now a matter of days," Malik Qayyum said.

 

Musharraf's re-election bid was challenged in the Supreme Court and five of the six petitions have already been dismissed. The court is set to announce on Thursday or Friday a verdict on the last one petition.

 

Musharraf achieved a crushing victory in the presidential elections on Oct. 6 according to local press reports. However, the Supreme Court had stopped the Election Commission from issuing an official notification of the elections unless the court gives a final verdict on the petitions.

 

Musharraf has insisted that he will take oath as a civilian president for the next five-year term.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2007)