Mush begins new innings as President in civvies

New Delhi: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was sworn in for a second term on Thursday, but this time as a civilian leader a day after quitting as army chief and fulfilling a promise many Pakistanis doubted he would keep.

Abdul Hameed Dogar, the chief justice Musharraf hand-picked after purging the Supreme Court when he imposed emergency rule on November 3, administered the oath to Musharraf, who was wearing a traditional sherwani tunic.

Musharraf says he is "moved and touched" by the presence of people from all walks of life at the swearing-in ceremony. "I have given up my post as army chief," Musharraf says. "I enjoyed every moment of my command (of the army), he says, describes the Pakistan Army as the "greatest army of the world".

''This is a milestone in the transition of Pakistan to complete essence of democracy,'' Musharraf said in a speech after he took the oath at a ceremony in the presidency in Islamabad.

Musharraf's power and influence in the nuclear-armed country, which is vital to the US campaign against al Qaeda and its strategy in neighbouring Afghanistan, are bound to be diminished after relinquishing command of the army.

He passed command to his hand-picked successor, General Ashfaq Kayani, who is seen as loyal to Musharraf. ''Pakistan will go stronger with me as a civilian president and General Kayani as army chief,'' Musharraf said.

Musharraf won re-election in a vote by legislators last month and later suspended the constitution, declared emergency rule and purged the Supreme Court to block opposition legal challenges to his victory while still a serving officer.

The opposition is still challenging his re-election. ''The oath he is taking has no legitimacy, no legal basis,'' former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the man Musharraf ousted in a 1999 coup, told reporters yesterday. ''The actions taken on November 3 are unacceptable to us. We condemn them and want them to be rolled back,'' Sharif said.

Sharif and another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, are considering boycotting a Jan. 8 general election that they

say will not be free and fair under emergency powers, although analysts expect them to take part. Musharraf is due to address the nation later on Thursday and he could use the occasion to end the emergency.