Retired generals urge Musharraf to step down

Praxius

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Dozens of retired generals, admirals and air marshals urged Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf to immediately step down, saying his resignation would promote democracy and help combat religious militancy, a member of the grouping said Wednesday.

"This is in the supreme national interest and it makes it incumbent on him to step down,'' said a statement released late Tuesday to the media after a meeting of the Pakistan Ex-Servicemen's Society attended by more than 100 former generals and other retired officers and enlisted men from all three services.

The call came as Musharraf, a top U.S. ally in its war on terrorism, was in Europe on a tour aimed at reassuring Western leaders about his ability to restore democracy and prevail in the escalating combat between government troops and Taliban rebels along Pakistan's mountainous border with Afghanistan.

In the latest violence, suspected militants attacked a military camp in the frontier region with rockets and small arms fire, killing three soldiers and wounding several others, a military statement and security officials said. The strike against Razmak Fort in South Waziristan came a day after fighting that left seven troops and 37 militants dead.

It was not immediately clear how the appeal by the influential group of generals would affect military support for Musharraf's presidency. Musharraf, who was army commander when he seized power in 1999, retired from the military last month just before he was inaugurated for a new five-year term as civilian president.

"The feeling was unanimous and strong among the officers and other ranks that Musharraf is the problem and that he is a source of divisiveness, a source of centrifugal forces and an impediment to democracy,'' said Talat Masood, a retired general who is now a prominent political analyst.

"He is bringing down the reputation of the army, and undermining its support among the people which it needs in the war on terror,'' said Masood, who also attended the meeting. "He has brought disgrace on all ranks.''

Musharraf has come under increasing pressure following his brief declaration of emergency rule last year and the Dec. 27 assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. But the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has continued to praise the former general, saying he is committed to restoring democracy through parliamentary elections scheduled for Feb. 18.

His successor as military commander, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, though regarded as loyal to Musharraf, has moved quickly to disengage the army _ which has ruled Pakistan for over half of its 60 years as an independent nation _ from politics. He has banned officers from maintaining contacts with politicians, and ordered that the more than 3,000 officers now serving in the civil administration and government-run enterprises gradually revert to their military duties.

Kayani has been praised by U.S. officials as an aggressive commander who has shown he is determined to restore law and order to the border regions which have served as a haven for Taliban and al-Qaida fighters.

"Kayani has made it very clear that army has to keep away from politics and the affairs of the state,'' Mirza Aslam Beg, who was chief of army staff from 1988 to 1991, told The Associated Press.

"He has realized the sentiments of the people of Pakistan that they do not want the army to intervene and take decisions on their behalf.''