Islamabad, August 9
Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, Gen Asfaq Parvez Kiyani will ask President Pervez Musharraf to resign within a week, The Telegraph has quoted a senior government official, as saying.

This claim has been supported by a former military aide to the President who said that the army’s leadership wished Musharraf to be spared the humiliation of impeachment.

The unnamed official claimed that the army had “whispered in Musharraf's ear that it is time to leave”.

“Over the next few days they will make it clear to him (Musharraf) that a protracted battle (against impeachment) is not in Pakistan's interests,” he added.

The official said that the ruling PPP had given an assurance of “indemnity” to the President.

He said the PPP had instigated the process for impeachment because Musharraf, a key ally in the US-led war on terror, had begun to use intelligence agencies to plot against the government.

He also alleged that Musharraf had tried to use a former PPP leader, Amin Fahim, to “instigate a rebellion within the party”.

“Washington was still hoping that the PPP would work with Musharraf, but he was not working with us. America wants Pakistan to be effectively governed and so has realised that the domestic struggle has to be resolved”, the paper quoted the official, as saying.

The former military aide to Musharraf said: “The army is neutral but is expecting him to resign. It will then influence his honourable safe passage as the army's senior leadership would not want him to be punished”. — ANI