Pakistan's General Pervez Musharraf (left) enters the Joint Staff Headquarters with General Tariq Majeed, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. Musharraf said farewell to military colleagues on Tuesday as he prepared to become a civilian president ahead of January's general election. - Reuters

ISLAMABAD (Reuters):

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said yesterday he would end a state of emergency next month, bowing to domestic and international pressure to restore normal government ahead of the general election in January.

"I'm fully determined that the emergency will be lifted on December 16," Musharraf said in an address to the nation on the day of his inauguration as president for a second five-year term.

The constitution would also be restored, he said.

"God willing, the election should be held under the constitution in a free and transparent manner," he said, referring to the January 8, 2008, general election.

Facing resentment

Musharraf faces widespread resentment at home, pressure from Western allies to tackle Islamist militancy and a difficult shift to life as a civilian. On Wednesday, he quit as chief of the army, which brought him to power in a military coup in 1999.

Earlier, he proffered an olive branch to old political rivals outraged by his declaration of emergency rule on November 3, welcoming their return from exile as good for reconciliation.

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif returned on Sunday and another old rival, Benazir Bhutto, came back last month. Musharraf deposed Sharif in 1999 in a bloodless military coup and forced the two-time premier abroad a year later.

Threatened boycott

Sharif and Bhutto, also a former prime minister, had threatened to boycott the polls, arguing the vote could not be free and fair if held under emergency powers.

However, most analysts expect them to take part, though Sharif's candidacy faces legal challenges.

Sharif is waiting to see if he will be barred from running in the election by criminal convictions he says were politically motivated. The election commission has asked him to appear on Friday to respond to a complaint over his candidacy.

Thousands of opposition politicians and lawyers were detained under emergency laws, independent media were shut down and sporadic anti-Musharraf protests were curbed by baton-wielding police.