ISLAMABAD Former President General (retd.) Pervez Musharraf has said he had no intention of entering into politics.

Musharraf who had gone in the background after being forced to resign as President in August amid pressure of impeachment and trial on high treason charges said he had not thought of entering into politics.

Whosoever is attributing such information to me is absolutely incorrect. I have not talked to anybody about politics, General (retd) Rashid Qureshi quoted him as saying.

Talking to Dawn, he said he will shortly be shifting to his farm house in Islamabad which is under construction.

He said his farm house will be meant for residential purposes and would not become hub of political activity.

Another source close to the former President said the sprawling house in Orchard farm scheme at Chak Shahzad will soon be ready and Musharraf would shift there in months. The source said Musharraf had no plans to permanently move to Turkey or any other country, but may undertake a foreign visit in the near future.

Observers believe Musharraf's decision to stay in Pakistan was a clear indication of a guarantee given to him against his trial.

They also pointed out that President Asif Ali Zardari had also ruled out the trial of Musharraf by saying that we do not believe in the politics of victimization.

As the pressure mounted on Musharraf to quit, he was said to have made his resignation conditional on guarantees from the ruling coalition that he would not be tried on any charges and that he would be given the security that is usually provided to a former President and a former Army chief.

The Saudis, the British and the Americans reportedly worked on the ruling coalition to provide him a safe exit.

A high-ranking Saudi official, Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, who heads the kingdom's intelligence agency, is reported to have made a secret visit to Pakistan to convince the ruling coalition not to impeach him, but allow him to step down with his dignity intact. There was no official confirmation of the visit.

The PML-N which was the only component to have opposed the idea of giving safe exit to Musharraf is no more part of the ruling coalition.

Observers believe that the former Presidents security will remain an issue, even if he was not tried. They said strict security measures would be needed to protect him when he resides in a farm house very close to the main road.