PAKISTAN: Pakistan's opposition and pro-government groups held rallies yesterday as an Islamic religious alliance demanded President Pervez Musharraf step down as army chief by the end of the year as he has promised.
In Karachi, tens of thousands of people gathered at a rally organised by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, a major ally in the federal as well as provincial Sindh government, in a show of strength by the coalition parties.
"This huge gathering is a vote of confidence in favour of President Pervez Musharraf," said Sindh Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim. "This once again is a vote of the people in favour of the president's (staying in) uniform," he told cheering crowds.
In the central city of Multan, the main opposition Islamic alliance held a rally and said they would force Gen Musharraf to quit as army chief if he reneged on his promise to do so voluntarily by year's end.
The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) last year helped the government pass a controversial constitutional amendment that gave sweeping powers to the president and validated decisions taken by his military-led government since an October 1999 coup.
In return, Gen Musharraf promised to leave his military post in 2004, but he has recently hinted he might not. Parliament has passed a dual-office law allowing him to retain both positions.
Gen Musharraf, on a tour abroad, has not yet announced what he will do.
Opposition leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, secretary general of the MMA, said his dual roles were not acceptable.
"If by 31 December, Pervez Musharraf does not take off his uniform as he had promised, a united opposition will be compelled to do so itself," he told the rally of a few thousand supporters.
"The entire opposition and the people will unite if he does not remove his uniform." MMA has held two rallies in a week ahead of an anti-Musharraf drive planned by the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) grouping of secular parties.
Despite ideological differences, both alliances are trying to find common ground for a joint struggle against Gen Musharraf who is a key ally of the United States in its "war on terror".
Gen Musharraf has survived at least three assassination attempts - two last December - which security officials say were orchestrated by extremists incensed by his US ties. Western criticism of Gen Musharraf has been muted given his role in helping the US hunt al-Qaeda members.