8216;Musharraf agrees to give up uniform8217;

8220;There is no more a uniform issue. It has been settled and the President will make an announcement about it an appropriate time,8221; he said.

However, the minister added that there were still some outstanding issues to be resolved between the two sides.

His remarks follow an interview of Bhutto to a British daily in which she said the President, who is seeking re-election for a five-year term, has agreed to resign as Army Chief.

Bhutto8217;s Pakistan People8217;s Party PPP and Musharraf8217;s representatives have been holding talks in an attempt to reach a political understanding. The self-exiled former Premier and

Musharraf met in Abu Dhabi recently and reportedly discussed the possibility of a power-sharing deal.

8220;We are close to an agreement on sharing of power but we are still not there. However, the uniform issue has been resolved. Musharraf has agreed to resign as Army Chief,8221; Bhutto told 8216;The Daily Telegraph.8217;

8220;The uniform issue is the key and there has been a lot of movement on it in the recent round of talks,8221; she said, while referring to negotiations currently going on between 8220;Musharraf8217;s emissaries and her party8221; in London.

Although Bhutto did not say when the President will quit as Army Chief, 8216;Dawn8217; daily on Tuesday reported that Musharraf had offered to doff his uniform even before the Presidential polls slated for next month.

In an interview to London8217;s Financial Times, another former Premier Nawaz Sharif, who has been permitted by the Supreme Court to return home from exile, said that he planned to come back within a fortnight and termed Bhutto8217;s attempts to reach a political deal with Musharraf as a 8220;setback.8221;

The two former Prime Ministers had signed a 8216;Charter of Democracy8217; in London in which they had agreed not to have any deal with 8220;military dictators.8221;

Sharif said Bhutto8217;s attempts for a power-sharing deal were a 8220;clear violation8221; of their agreement.

Musharraf has suffered a series of legal setbacks ever since the failed attempt to remove Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry.

Also, the apex court on Wednesday admitted a petition by the chief of Islamic alliance Muttahida Majlis-e Amal MMA, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, against the General8217;s continuation as the Army Chief despite attaining the age of retirement, which is 60 years, four years back.

The MMA chief told reporters that Musharraf8217;s rule since he seized power in a bloodless Army coup in 1999 was 8220;unconstitutional, immoral and illegal.8221;

8220;He Musharraf has jeopardised everything 8211; the Constitution, the laws 8211; and therefore it is time for the Supreme Court to set the house right,8221; he said.