LAHORE, Dec 30: Opposition parties have reacted sharply to the address of Gen Pervez Musharraf to the nation in which he announced that he would keep both the offices till 2007.

MMA vice-president Senator Prof Sajid Mir said it was Gen Musharraf who had backed out of his promise of shedding the uniform but he was instead maligning the MMA (over the issue).

He warned the ruler that the uniform had never been helpful to any army dictator in the past. He said the development works mentioned in the speech had been initiated by ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

He said the only solution to the problems being faced by the nation was putting a permanent end to the army intervention in politics. ARD's deputy information secretary Munir Ahmad Khan said the address had not only damaged democracy but also tarnished image of the armed forces.

He said had there been good governance under Gen Musharraf during the last five years, as claimed by him, there would have been no need to continue supremacy of the army uniform in the country.

He said all the arguments given in favour of the uniform were illogical, meaningless and full of contradictions, vindicating the ARD stance. He said the alliance would continue its struggle for the restoration of 1973 constitution and parliament sovereignty.

For Punjab PPP president Qasim Zia and general secretary Naveed Chaudhry there was nothing new in the speech. They rejected Gen Musharraf's claim of economic stability, saying this had been exposed by the Sate Bank report which said that poverty had increased in the country while there was no new investment in the industrial sector.

They wondered how an "unconstitutional" president was talking of constitutional matters. Jamaat-i-Islami's secretary-general Syed Munawwar Hasan termed the speech a bundle of lies.

He said there was no surprise in Gen Musharraf's declaration of keeping both the offices because he had earlier violated the constitution by ousting an elected prime minister.

The figures given in the speech were an attempt to hoodwink the masses, he said, adding when the general took power the poverty level was just 13 per cent which had now risen to 42 per cent in his five-year rule.

Awami National Party (ANP) secretary general Ehsan Wyne said all the arguments given by the army ruler for his uniform were illogical as the step would eliminate democracy from the country instead of strengthening it. He also criticized the formula given by him for eradicating poverty, saying this course needed half a century for achieving its goal.

About Gen Musharraf's claim of improving Pakistan's status in the comity of nations, he said there might be personal friendship between the army ruler and any international leader but under his rule the country had gained no world acclaim.

Labour Party's Farooq Tariq said continuation of Musharraf's regime meant continuation of anti-masses economic policies.