ISLAMABAD, Nov 26: General Pervez Musharraf would be sworn in as a civilian president at the Aiwan-i-Sadr on Thursday, presidential spokesman Maj-Gen (retd) Rashid Qureshi said on Monday.

“This will end all rumours and speculations,” he said, adding that before taking the oath Gen Musharraf would hand over the charge of the army chief to Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani for which the ministry of defence would formally issue a notification.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar will administer the oath to Gen Musharraf. The ceremony will be attended by caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro, former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, federal ministers, the four governors, the chief ministers and the three services chiefs.

On Wednesday, the president will preside over a meeting of the corps commanders at the General Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi. Sources said that he would give a farewell address to the corps commanders and would thank them for their support.

The services chiefs, the Vice Chief of Army Staff, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairman will pay a farewell call on Gen Musharraf on Wednesday at the GHQ. A guard of honour by a special contingent of the army will also be presented.

The sources said that the security of Gen Musharraf would remain with the army even after he took the oath as civilian president. A special SSG contingent headed by a brigadier has been assigned for his security.

The president, the sources said, had decided to keep his current military staff with him — that is, a full-time military secretary, deputy military secretary and deputy chief of staff.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Malik Abdul Qayyum has said that President Musharraf will take the oath for his next term under the 1973 Constitution. When asked during a TV interview if the chief justice of the Supreme Court would administer the oath under the 1973 Constitution, although he himself had taken the oath under the PCO, the AG said it made little difference under which Constitution the chief justice had taken the oath.

He said the issue would be resolved, hinting that the apex court judges might also take a fresh oath under the 1973 Constitution which, he said, was the supreme law of the land even today.

AFP Adds: President Musharraf’s doffing of the army uniform would meet a key demand of the international community which is outraged by his imposition of a state of emergency, but is unlikely to placate opposition leaders at home who are threatening to boycott general elections.

Top military spokesman Maj-Gen Waheed Arshad said that Gen Musharraf would officially step down as the army chief on Wednesday.