WASHINGTON, March 21: The United States has said that it expects President Gen Pervez Musharraf to give up the army chief’s post by the end of this year, indicating a major change in the US policy.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told a briefing here that the US expected the current judicial crisis to be resolved “within the confines of Pakistani law” and in a ‘transparent’ manner that satisfied the people of the country.

“He has made certain commitments in this regard and we think it’s important that he follow through on those commitments,” said Mr McCormack when asked if it was the US government’s view that Gen Musharraf should leave the army post by the end of 2007 as scheduled.

The questioner had said that the dispute over Gen Musharraf’s desire to keep both the posts of army chief and that of president seemed to be the cause of the ongoing crisis. The spokesman offered no comments on the observation.

Instead, he described President Musharraf as a ‘good’ and ‘solid friend’ in fighting terrorism, and said the US was “not going to dictate to him or anybody else” on how he should follow through on his commitment to change Pakistan.

Mr McCormack, however, said the US could “offer guidance and counsel and encouragement” to help Pakistan move ahead on the pathway to democracy. Throughout the statement, the spokesman maintained a delicate balance, trying to appear not too intrusive while conveying the US position on the crisis.

“We ourselves, of course, encourage the continued democratic development of Pakistan. They are a close friend and a close ally in the war on terror. We believe that President Musharraf has made a commitment to change Pakistan and we think that is a positive thing,” Mr McCormack said. “We are not going to dictate to him or anybody else and the Pakistani people exactly what those changes are going to be or specific steps that they might need to take,” he said.

“Of course, we can offer guidance and counsel and encouragement to continue along the pathway to democracy. But President Musharraf is good, he has been a solid friend in fighting the war on terror,” Mr McCormack said.

When asked to comment on the resignation of one of the three deputy attorneys general in Pakistan, the official said: “That’s an individual decision of conscience that somebody has to take. Clearly, he has differences with the course of action. I know that President Musharraf has himself said that this might have been handled differently.”

He noted the issue was now before a panel of senior judges and President Musharraf had said that he would abide by the decisions of the Supreme Judicial Council. “And as it should be, we have stated before that it is important that whatever the resolution of this issue may be, that it takes place within the confines of Pakistani law, that it is done in a transparent manner so that all understand what exactly has transpired.”