Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf is vowing to shed his military uniform by the end of the month. The move comes amidst increasing unrest following his declaration of emergency rule.

Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf: “I have already declared that, so we must have elections. I must handle the uniform issue. I cannot be a president without — in uniform now. The choice after that is whether I should stay at all; that option is available to me.”

Musharraf’s term officially ends today along with the Pakistani Parliament, but he will stay in office indefinitely under his emergency decree. Aides say he will await court rulings on challenges to his crackdown and election win last month. He’s widely expected to win both cases after having fired several judges who had shown independence. Meanwhile, Pakistani journalists continue their peaceful protests against Musharraf’s bans on critical media coverage. Ansar Abbasi of the News International says Musharraf is losing credibility by the day.

Ansar Abbasi: “President Musharraf seems to have lost his confidence and also trust on media. And what was previously — what was the previous perception about President Musharraf, that he is quite a tolerant person, that has absolutely gone in the air.”