LAHORE, July 28: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal hope that President Pervez Musharraf will step down as army chief by Dec 31, the deadline set by the 17th Constitutional Amendment, without the two alliances pressuring him.

"People say that Gen Musharraf honours his word. We'll see whether he lives up to his commitment on the issue", ARD Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim said while talking to Dawn on Wednesday, indicating that the alliance would not do anything to pressure the general unless he fails to meet the requirements of the amendment.

The amendment was made by the ruling coalition in cooperation with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal in December. The alliance of religious parties insists that now the general is duty-bound to step down as COAS by that day.

MMA Secretary-General Maulana Fazlur Rehman said it would be premature to say at this juncture that the general was not meeting the requirement of amendment.

"I think we'll not have to pressure Gen Musharraf. The constitution itself would keep him under pressure (to take off his uniform by the set date)". The MMA leader said those advizing the president to wriggle out of his commitment were violating the constitution, which was a serious offence.

Mr Amin Fahim said the ARD had consistently been saying that it was unconstitutional on the part of the president to simultaneously hold the office of the army chief.

The alliance holds the same view even today, he said, adding that the coalition would monitor the developments till Dec 31 and work out any future course of action in the light of the emerging situation.

Asked about the roadmap for democracy being hammered out by the PPP-Parliamentarians, Mr Amin Fahim, who also heads the party, said the exercise was being carried out as his party believed that genuine democracy was yet to be restored.

He said since the PPPP was the major component of the ARD, it wanted to take stock of the situation, review the progress made so far for the revival of democracy and see what else should be done to achieve the target.

In response to a question, Mr Fahim said the plan to be prepared by the PPP would be placed before the ARD which would finalize it.Mr Fahim, asked how long would the PPP take to come up with the roadmap, said: "We'll neither rush nor delay the plan". In response to a question, the ARD chief said he was holding consultations with other leaders to hold a meeting of the alliance at the earliest.