Pakistan's Gen Pervez Musharraf said farewell to military colleagues today as he prepared to become a civilian president ahead of January's general election.
Gen Musharraf visited military headquarters in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, a day before he steps down as army chief to fulfil one of the long-held demands of his political rivals and Western allies.
President General Pervez Musharraf pictured today
Gen Musharraf will be sworn in as a civilian president on Thursday, his spokesman said, after securing a second five-year term thanks to a new panel of friendly judges who validated his victory in last month's election.
All main opposition parties have signed up for the January 8th parliamentary election, but former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, both back in Pakistan after years of exile, have said they may still boycott the vote, which is being organised under emergency rule.
Mr Sharif and Ms Bhutto are both demanding an end to the emergency and other steps they say are essential for a fair vote. They also want to see sacked judges reinstated.
Ms Sharif said Gen Musharraf's departure from the army was not the issue as he was constitutionally bound to quit anyway. "The issue is those actions he took on November 3rd have to be reversed if we are to hold free and fair elections," he said.
An Interior Ministry spokesman said 5,748 people detained under the emergency had been freed and only 37 were still in detention. The judges who defied Gen Musharraf are also under house arrest.
Gen Musharraf - who seized power in a 1999 coup - has seen his popularity plummet since March when he tried to fire the country's independent-minded top judge, triggering a campaign against him by lawyers and the opposition.
Many ordinary Pakistanis who initially welcomed the coup against Mr Sharif have turned against the army chief as they struggle to cope with rising prices for food and fuel.