 ISLAMABAD - President Pervez Musharraf was set to embark on pomp-filled farewell visits to his troops on Tuesday, one day before he quits as head of PakistanÂ’s nuclear-armed military and becomes a civilian leader. The former commando, who grabbed power in a coup in 1999 and then signed up as a US ally in the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, will tour various military bases to say his goodbyes over the next two days, officials said.
| "So long guys, I'll be thinking of you when you're in Swat ... and I'm not!" |
He is to step down as army chief on Wednesday. On the following day, he will take the oath for a second five-year term as president -- but this time without the uniform that he has described as being like his skin.
| Just making way for the next General-President-Honcho. |
“General Musharraf will make a series of farewell visits to various military headquarters on Tuesday and Wednesday,” presidential spokesman Rashid Qureshi told AFP. He is on Tuesday to visit the headquarters of the joint services, the navy and the air force, which are spread out between the capital Islamabad and the neighbouring garrison city of Rawalpindi, Qureshi said.
Musharraf will on Wednesday go to the armyÂ’s general headquarters in Rawalpindi to hand over his position as chief of army staff to his heir apparent, General Ashfaq Kiyani, the spokesman added. Officials said Musharraf would receive a guard of honour during the handover ceremony to Kiyani, the former head of PakistanÂ’s premier spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence.
| Gotta wonder just how devious Kiyani is ... and how quick ... |
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