ISLAMABAD, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - The party of former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto said Tuesday that President Pervez Musharraf's plan to quit as army chief if re-elected was unconstitutional and undemocratic.
The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) said it could resign from parliament if the goverment does not take more steps for national reconciliation, although added that its strategy was not yet finalised.
Bhutto has been in talks with military ruler Musharraf for months over a potential power-sharing deal, a key condition of which is that he should hang up his army uniform.
"The PPP has made it very clear at all points that it cannot accept a uniformed president. General Musharraf's decision to get himself re-elected in uniform is both unconstitutional and undemocratic," the party said in a statement.
There was no direct comment from Bhutto, who heads her party from exile in London and Dubai and has faced criticism from Pakistan-based members of her party for dealing with a military ruler.
Musharraf's chief lawyer told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that, if he is re-elected president by parliament in a vote that must take place by October 15, he would quit as army chief of staff before taking the oath of office.
