Musharraf designates new army chief

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf made moves on Tuesday to smooth his re-election by naming a successor as army chief as his government dropped graft charges against possible ally Benazir Bhutto.

General Musharraf, a close U.S. ally and leader of the only nuclear-armed Islamic nation, looks set to win re-election on Saturday in votes by the two-chamber parliament and four provincial assemblies.

While more than 80 opposition members of parliament resigned to protest against his re-election bid, dropping the cases against former prime minister Bhutto is likely to convince her assembly members to at least take part in the vote, giving it vital credibility.

The decision to grant immunity to Bhutto and other civilian leaders was made at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, a government minister said.

Hassan Ahmed Bukhari, UK president of Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), reacted cautiously to the news.

"Sometimes they make the statements just to create more confusion. It could be just that, it could be just a bit of disinformation from the government," he told Reuters.

Bukhari insisted the news would have no bearing on the PPP's decision on how to behave in Saturday's vote.

"The party will make that decision on a matter of principle," he said on the eve of a PPP meeting in London that will discuss strategy ahead of the re-election vote and Bhutto's planned Oct. 18 return to Pakistan to contest upcoming parliamentary elections, ending eight years of self-exile.