President General Pervez Musharraf on Thursday reiterated his commitment to doff his uniform between October 6 and November 15 this year, and said it was the right time for transition towards complete democracy, Dawn News reported.Musharraf said he had given in writing that November 15 was the last date for removing his uniform, adding that “before that it is my option”. He said that remaining in uniform beyond 2004 was necessitated by the domestic and regional environment at that time. He said the biggest dictate for leaving the post of army chief was the legal and constitutional obligations.
He said the challenges faced by Pakistan in the last few years such as the October 2005 earthquake, recent floods in Sindh and at the Sukkur barrage, proved the value of a president in uniform. Regarding opinion polls showing his popularity going down, he said, “If anyone says that I am unpopular I do not agree with it.”