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ISLAMABAD - Military ruler Pervez Musharraf's term as president officially ends Thursday at the same time as parliament dissolves, tipping emergency-ruled Pakistan into limbo.
The government said Musharraf, as the incumbent, would remain in office as both army chief and president until the Supreme Court rules on the legality of his victory in an October 6 presidential election.
Opposition leaders including detained former premier Benazir Bhutto have called on Musharraf to quit, while international pressure is growing for him to give up his role as army chief and end the state of emergency.
"In the constitution the incumbent will continue until the next president takes oath. That is only a common-sense approach, that you cannot have the office lying vacant," Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azeem told AFP.
Musharraf's lawyers told the Supreme Court in September that his five-year term in office would end on November 15. He also vowed to shed his uniform before his second term.
Critics say jitters over the court decision on his re-election led to Musharraf imposing a state of emergency rule on November 3, after which he gutted the court and replaced its top judges.
Azeem said that pending the court's judgment Musharraf could take off his uniform by the end of November -- "or it could be even earlier."
"As soon as the Supreme Court can remove that hitch they will notify his election victory and he will be able to take the oath. Before he takes the oath, he will take off the uniform," Azeem said.
The national parliament meanwhile is set to dissolve at midnight after serving the first full term in the history of Pakistan, paving the way for a caretaker government ahead of elections Musharraf has promised by January 9.
The interim government will be sworn in Friday. The remaining provincial assemblies are to be dissolved around November 20.
The opposition, most of whom are either detained, exiled or under house arrest, are considering whether to boycott of the polls, saying they can be neither free nor fair under the state of emergency.
Outgoing premier Shaukat Aziz, whose replacement is set to be announced on Thursday or Friday, told state media late Wednesday he was "leaving the office with a sense of satisfaction."
He said that the imposition of emergency rule was "not a new thing, as it was imposed in the past too, and elections were held under it."
Meanwhile Bhutto and another former premier, Nawaz Sharif, agreed to join forces against Musharraf after speaking by telephone, a top official in Sharif's party said.
He said the two opposition leaders, who have been rivals in the past, were ready to bury their differences for a "joint struggle" to oust Musharraf, who is president as well as head of the army.
Bhutto, who says she has killed off power-sharing negotiations with Musharraf, is currently under house arrest in the eastern city of Lahore, while Sharif leads his party from exile in Saudi Arabia.
Another opposition figure contacted by Bhutto earlier in the week, cricket legend Imran Khan, was moved to Lahore's biggest prison early Thursday after being charged under anti-terror laws for protesting against emergency rule.
Musharraf said in a series of interviews that he would not consider quitting until the turmoil in the country was over, telling Sky News: "I am not a dictator, I want a democracy."
But global outrage over the state of emergency continued.
The United States, which counts Musharraf as a key ally against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, warned Musharraf that it would not accept coming elections as free and fair unless he lifts the clampdown.
"They can't be held under a state of emergency," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters. - AFP/ir
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