dere aayad durast aayad
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/11/26/pakistan.sharif/index.html
LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) – Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will step down as army chief and take an oath of office for a third presidential term on Thursday, his spokesman told CNN.
The date was officially set after the federal government notified the president’s office on Monday that it has approved Musharraf’s October election results, according to presidential spokesman Brig. Gen. Rashid Qureshi.
Musharraf has repeatedly vowed to step down as military ruler, but there were fears that he would renege on that promise as he has done in the past.
Qureshi said Musharraf will make farewell visits to the army, air force and navy headquarters on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif earlier Monday registered as a candidate for Pakistan’s key January parliamentary elections – but warned he would boycott the vote unless a state of emergency was lifted.
Sharif will meet with other opposition party leaders in the coming days to discuss forming a unified front against a state of emergency declared by Musharraf on November 3.
Sharif returned to Pakistan on Sunday, ending seven years in exile in Saudi Arabia. He had tried to return in September, but was deported by Pakistani authorities.
Speaking to CNN before departing Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Sharif said he has refused to discuss a power-sharing agreement with Musharraf despite overtures from the Pakistani leader.
“Mr. Musharraf, the president of Pakistan, tried to meet me over the last two months ever since I was deported from Pakistan,” Sharif said. "I said there is no point in talking because it would not serve any purpose because he is heading into a different direction…
“I am for democracy and I am for the rule of law for the restoration of the constitution.”
Sharif, who was ousted by Musharraf in a 1999 coup, was to register in the main court complex in Lahore – his hometown and political power base – at the head of a rally of supporters.
Sharif arrived in Lahore on Sunday aboard a jet provided by the Saudi government at around 6:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. ET).
He emerged amid a crowd of uniformed security personnel and throngs of cheering supporters at the airport, where security was on high alert.
Speaking to CNN just moments before his plane departed from Medina, Saudi Arabia, Sharif denied reports that he struck a deal with President Pervez Musharraf’s government that would allow him to return to Pakistan.
“I haven’t met any Pakistani government functionary over the last eight years, although there were a lot of overtures from the Pakistani side to meet me and to talk to me,” Sharif said Sunday afternoon.
He said he has not changed his position on Musharraf, the man who overthrew him in a bloodless military coup in 1999.
“He is not a legitimate president of the country; I do not accept that, not at all,” Sharif said.
It is the second time Sharif has arrived in Pakistan this year. He was quickly deported back to Saudi Arabia by Musharraf’s government when he tried to return in September.
Pakistani police set up on roadblocks leading into Lahore and the government had warned Sharif supporters they would be blocked from entering the city.
Pakistani police launched a crackdown on Sharif supporters ahead of his arrival, arresting several hundred at their homes and stopping hundreds more who were traveling to Lahore to welcome him, authorities and eyewitnesses told CNN.
Former Pakistani prime minister and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan in October, after eight years in self-imposed exile. While traveling from the Karachi airport, her motorcade was attacked, killing 136 people. She was unharmed.
Sharif – who leads the opposition party Pakistan Muslim League – said he had been talking to Bhutto “trying to find common ground” in uniting the opposition to Musharraf’s government.
“We both have been interacting over the past few days, so let’s see what comes out of it,” Sharif said.
Sharif, like other opposition leaders, was highly critical of Bhutto for discussing a power-sharing government with Musharraf. Those talks ended when Musharraf imposed a state of emergency on Nov. 3.
Sharif said that while his alliance – the All Pakistan Democratic Movement (APDM) – is preparing to participate in the January elections, they will only take part if Musharraf withdraws the emergency declaration and releases opposition members who have been jailed.
“Everything that was done must be reversed and drawn back completely,” he said.
“Just withdrawing emergency will not be enough,” he said. “You must have a level playing field for free and fair elections.”
Asked if he could ever agree to a power sharing deal with Musharraf as president and he as prime minister, Sharif answered, “No, no, no, no question.”
Sharif said he refused recent attempts by Musharraf to meet with him in Saudi Arabia. Sharif said he rejected the offer because the two men “are poles apart.”
Musharraf met with Saudi leaders last week – his first trip since imposing the state of emergency – raising speculation that an understanding was reached with the Saudi government that prompted their support of Sharif’s return from exile.
A spokesman for Musharraf told CNN Sunday there was no agreement or understanding with Sharif.
Saudi authorities have been pushing Pakistan to allow Sharif back in the country. In addition to his aircraft to Lahore, the Saudi royal family also has provided him with a bulletproof car in Lahore, according to one of his deputies and a government source.
Convicted of terrorism, hijacking and tax evasion after Musharraf seized power in 1999, Sharif was released in 2000 in exchange for agreeing to 10 years of exile in Saudi Arabia. He retained his Pakistani citizenship, but has not been allowed to travel to Pakistan or directly take part in Pakistani politics.
Last week, Pakistan’s Supreme Court – recently stacked by Musharraf with his allies – ruled against the last challenge blocking the ratification of last month’s presidential election. On Saturday, the election commission officially notified the federal government that Musharraf won.
The move clears the path for him to take the oath of office for the third time, which he has vowed to do after stepping down as the country’s military chief. No date has been set for the swearing-
