By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS
Islamabad : Attired in a black sherwani, President Pervez Musharraf Thursday took oath for his second term but as a civilian head of state after having ruled the country in military uniform for eight years.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Abdul Hameed Doggar administered the oath at the Darbar Hall of the presidency. Opposition parties did not attend the ceremony.
“It’s an emotional and nostalgic stage for me in the last three days. I have quit from the army after almost half a century of association,” said Musharraf, 64.
He said he would cherish his association with the army as “I have seen excitement, tragedies, death and many else with the army”.
He also said that he had full trust and confidence in the new army chief and “I wish him success and I believe Pakistan will grow stronger with me as civilian president and general Kiyani as head of the army”.
Pakistan is passing through the third phase of the transition towards democracy, he said, adding: “There is great turbulence but I have full conviction that we will come out of this very soon”.
Caretaker Prime Minister Muhammadmian Soomro, members of his cabinet, military services chiefs, judges of the Supreme Court, senior bureaucrats and foreign envoys and representatives from the world of showbiz were present at the ceremony.
Despite the state of emergency, which he imposed as army chief Nov 3 by suspending the constitution, Musharraf took oath under the 1973 constitution.
Musharraf stood in front of the audience and repeated the oath as read out by Justice Doggar from the constitution. “…I will perform my duties in accordance with the constitution of Pakistan…,” he said in his oath.
The audience cheered him and clapped as he signed the document after taking oath. The ceremony was conducted with the same pomp as when Musharraf bid farewell to the army Wednesday after handing over the army chief’s traditional baton to his successor General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani.
“I am moved and touched by the ceremony, I am grateful to the nation for imposing this confidence in me,” the president said after taking oath.