Reuters: Musharraf sworn in as president 29 November

General Pervez Musharraf finally quit as army chief on Wednesday, trading the post for a second five-year term as president, and fulfilling a promise many Pakistanis doubted he would keep. He will be sworn in as a civilian president on Thursday. Musharraf passed the baton of command to his hand-picked successor, General Ashfaq Kayani, at a ceremony at army headquarters in Rawalpindi. Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup, will be sworn in as a civilian president on Thursday, having given up his position in the one institution that guaranteed his power.

Bhutto has long called for Musharraf to step down as army chief but this is the first time she has called for him to quit as president altogether. Military ruler Musharraf set off a storm of criticism when he imposed emergency rule on Nov. 3. He suspended the constitution, sacked most judges, locked up lawyers, rounded up thousands of opposition and rights activists and curbed the media. Musharraf has come under mounting pressure from Western allies to set Pakistan back on the path to democracy.

The White House added that Musharraf had made his own decision to lift emergency rule and that the U.S. had not threatened the Pakistani President.

News from Reuters

Pakistani students protesting the rule of president Pervez Musharraf have marched on the streets of the capital for the first time, sparking pitched street battles with the police. Voiced report

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's political allies have conceded a crushing defeat in parliamentary elections. It marks the final step in the nuclear-armed nation's path to civilian democracy after eight years of turbulent military rule.

The Bush administration has been under strong pressure from the U.S. Congress to cut aid to Pakistan, or at least impose restrictions linking democratic reform to funding levels.

Bhutto's release was welcomed in Washington. U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said other political detainees should also be freed. In a separate development, Musharraf swore in an ally as caretaker prime minister -- Senate Chairman Mohammadmian Soomro -- and a 24-member cabinet to oversee the parliamentary elections due by Jan. 9.

Talks are under way that could lead to the resignation of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf or else reduce his role to that of a figurehead, an ally of the embattled leader said Friday. (Aug. 15)