Fearing that his attempt to get re-elected in military uniform by the present assemblies might be blocked by the judiciary, President Pervez Musharraf has offered to quit as army chief if all the political parties agreed to support him for another term, a daily reported.

“Musharraf has offered to doff his uniform even before the presidential polls. But in the trade-off, he wants all political parties to agree to re-elect him as President for the next five years after the new assemblies come into being following the next general elections,” The Dawn quoted sources as saying.

According to the unnamed sources, Musharraf also “wants the powers of the office of the President to remain untouched at least up to the end of his new term”.

Musharraf’s emissaries, currently in London, are also discussing the deal with self-exiled former premier Benazir Bhutto to get the support of her Pakistan People’s Party, according to the unnamed sources.

However, Pakistan has officially denied that Musharraf was planning to doff his uniform before the presidential polls slated for sometime in the next month.

Meanwhile, a Pakistani minister has resigned in protest against President Pervez Musharraf’s decision to get relected in uniform, exposing the rift in the ruling party over the issue, PTI reports from Islamabad.

Minister of State for Information Technology Ishaq Khan Khakwani quit from the cabinet on Monday but he will retain his membership of the National Assembly as a PML (Q) member.