Musharraf quits as military chief

General Pervez Musharraf finally quit as Pakistan army chief yesterday, just one day before starting a second five-year term as president.

He passed the baton of command to his successor, General Ashfaq Kayani, at a ceremony at army headquarters in Rawalpindi.

Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup, is to be sworn in as civilian president today, having relinquished his position in the one institution that guaranteed his power.