Islamabad
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has reneged on his pledge to step down as army chief of staff by the end of 2004. “Pakistan needs continuity of its internal and external policies, which can only be ensured if I stay as the army chief,” Musharraf said in a televised New Year’s Eve address. He said the war on terror and the conflict with India over Kashmir could only be managed if one person was making the political and military decisions. An opposition coalition of Islamic parties said it would hold mass rallies later this month to protest the move. “We cannot have diluted democracy,” said Makhdoom Amin Fahim, leader of the Pakistan People’s Party.
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