Incumbent Pakistani President Musharraf will likely take oath as president for another five-year term on Nov. 28, Attorney General of Pakistan Malik Muhammad Qayyum said Friday.

 

Talking to the state-run PTV and the private Dawn News channel separately, Qayyum said that Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar would administer the oath and before that General Musharraf would relinquish the post of army chief.

 

Qayyum also said that emergency was also likely to be lifted before general elections scheduled for Jan. 8, but a decision in this regard would be taken by the president himself.

 

He said that Musharraf had volunteered to doff his uniform as there was no compulsion to do so, adding that deposed judges had created confusion regarding the uniform.

 

According to the official APP news agency, the 10-member full court of the Supreme Court validated the Oct. 6 election of Musharraf by the national and the provincial assemblies.

 

"In our opinion, President General Pervez Musharraf...was qualified for and did not suffer from any disqualification, under the constitution or/and the law for presidential election 2007," the court said in its order.

 

"The chief election commissioner of Pakistan and the federal government are directed to take all the necessary steps by Dec. 1, 2007, for final announcement of the result of the presidential election and issuance of public notification in accordance with the constitution and the law," it said.

 

As already undertaken in writing on Sept. 18 before the Supreme Court by Musharraf's law advisor Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada and Attorney General Malik Muhammad Qayyum, Musharraf "shall relinquish the office of the Chief of Army Staff before taking oath of office of the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, for the second term", the full court ruled.

 

Musharraf gained a vast majority in the presidential election on Oct. 6. However, the Supreme Court on Oct. 5 barred the election commission from issuing an official notification of the result before a final verdict was given on petitions challenging Musharraf's presidential candidacy.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 24, 2007)