LAHORE, Sept 19: There is no shift in President Musharraf’s stand on setting a date for quitting the office of the army chief, sources close to the general told Dawn on Friday night.

They recalled that the president had always said that he would step down as COAS when the situation was conducive.

For the time being, however, there was no such possibility, the sources emphasized.

The MMA has been insisting that Gen Musharraf set a clear date on which he would take off his military uniform.

The sources recalled that Gen Musharraf had given up the office of the chief executive and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee after the elections. This, the sources argued, established that the general was not interested in wearing several caps at the same time. They assured that the day the situation permitted, Gen Musharraf would give up his army office.