By DPA
Islamabad : Pakistan’s minister of state for information technology has resigned from the cabinet in protest against plans of President Pervez Musharraf to seek re-election in uniform, media reports said Tuesday.
Ishaq Khakwani, who tendered his resignation late Monday, said he would support the president only if he stepped down as army chief before the presidential election expected before Oct 15.
The senior vice president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, Kabir Ali Wasti, also said he would oppose the plan for re-election in uniform, further widening rifts within the military leader’s power base.
The issue has also hampered back-channel talks on a power-sharing deal with exiled opposition leader and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who says Musharraf must run as a civilian if he wants the support of her Pakistan People’s Party.
A deal would allow Bhutto to come home and participate in elections after corruption charges against her are dropped and obstacles to her serving a third term as prime minister removed.
A number of other senior members of the ruling party have voiced concerns about the matter of Musharraf’s active military status.
Khakwani reportedly claimed that several other cabinet ministers shared his view but that Musharraf, an army general who seized power in a coup in 1999, was ignoring the dissenting voices.
Musharraf has said the issue of his uniform would be decided according to the constitution and law as he seeks another five years in power.
Close aides of the president are reportedly meeting Bhutto in London to discuss the possibility of him stepping down as army chief before the elections.
But ministers have denied media reports of parallel talks with another exiled opposition leader and former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, whom the Supreme Court in Islamabad last week permitted to return to Pakistan.
Both exiled leaders have pledged to come and lead their parties in elections to a new parliament due to be held within three months of the presidential polls.