ISLAMABAD, May 23 Former president Pervez Musharraf has vacated the Army House — 18 months after retiring as the Chief of Army Staff.

Reliable sources told Dawn on Saturday that belongings of the former army chief had been moved to his house at Chak Shahzad farm house, near Tamri Chowk.

They were not sure when Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the COAS, will shift to the Army House.

Gen (retired) Rashid Qureshi, who had twice served as Gen (retd) Musharraf's spokesman, said as he was in Karachi, he was not in a position to confirm the evacuation.

He said the former president would soon return home after a lecture tour of several countries. “He (Pervez Musharraf) has no plan to settle abroad,” Gen Qureshi added.

However, the sources said, very few belongings of the former army chief had been moved to Chak Shahzad. They said it was not clear whether or not Gen Musharraf intended to settle down in Chak Shahzad.

Gen Musharraf had retired from the army on Nov 28, 2007. But he continued living in the Army House as the government declared the premises as official residence of the President of Pakistan on Dec 6. However, the residence, constructed for the current Army Chief remained in his possession.