A group of retired senior military officers said today President Pervez Musharraf should hand over power to the judge he sacked three months ago to ensure national elections are fair.
The backing for deposed Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry from old generals, air marshals, admirals and intelligence chiefs coincided with protests by lawyers in support of the judge and the independence of the judiciary.
"General Musharraf's continuation in power is damaging to the country. He should quit," retired Air Marshal Asghar Khan told journalists after a meeting of a committee formed to make recommendations.
"He should hand over power to Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry," he told a newsconference in an Islamabad hotel.
Pakistan's Western allies hope the vote on February18th will restore stability after months of unrest over Musharraf's manoeuvres to hold on to power amid a surge in militant violence.
Fears for nuclear-armed Pakistan's future deepened after the assassination of pro-Western opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on December 27th.