Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf today said general elections would be held by February 15 next year, and that he will doff uniform before taking oath for a second five-year term.Talking to reporters after chairing a meeting of the National Security Council at the Aiwan-e-Sadr here, Musharraf said he was committed to holding polls and a transition to "full democratic civilian rule."The beleaguered military ruler's announcement came a day after US President George Bush bluntly told Musharraf to quit as Army Chief and hold elections. The world community has stepped up pressure on Musharraf to end emergency he had imposed on November 3 and restore fundamental rights and the Constitution.Musharraf said the government had decided to hold simultaneous elections to the national and provincial assemblies on or before February 15 next year.The government had reviewed the possibility of holding separate polls to the national assembly and the four provincial assemblies as their terms will end on different dates but decided against this, he said.Asked when he would doff his uniform, Musharraf said the matter was now with the Supreme Court, which had directed the Election Commission not to notify the result of the October 6 Presidential poll, which was swept by the General.He said he would remove his uniform before taking oath for second term as President "whenever the honourable court would allow the notification of the result."The National Security Council meeting was attended by the three armed forces' chiefs including Gen Ashfaq Pervaiz Kiyani who is tipped to succeed Musharraf as Army Chief, ruling PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and top government officials.Musharraf, who came to power in a military coup in 1999, had swept the October 6 election that was boycotted by the opposition. The apex court barred the notification of the result till it decided on petitions challenging Musharraf's candidature.(Reporting by Rezaul H Laskar)
