Smoothest transition ever: Musharraf

Islamabad: President General Pervez Musharraf on Friday hailed the "smoothest transition" of power ever in the country after swearing in an interim government headed by caretaker Prime Minister Mohammadmian Soomro.

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, however, promptly rejected the new government that has been tasked with overseeing the general elections.

"Today we are creating history; Pakistan has never seen such a smooth transition of government," Musharraf said in a speech after administering the oath of office to Soomro and his 24-member cabinet at the presidential palace.

"I take pride in the fact that, being a man in uniform, I have actually introduced the essence of democracy in Pakistan, whether anyone believes it or not," he said.

The ceremony took place against the backdrop of continuing protests against the November 3 proclamation of emergency and suspension of the constitution by Musharraf.

Bhutto was freed from house confinement in Lahore overnight but thousands of political workers, lawyers and civil activists remained behind bars, with police using emergency powers to detain them.

The National Assembly was dissolved on Thursday and the Shaukat Aziz government also ceased to function after the expiry of its five-year mandate.

Musharraf has pledged general elections before January 9 and also reiterated he would quit the post of army chief after the newly constituted Supreme Court validated his October 6 election for a second term.

Shaukat Aziz and members of his defunct cabinet attended the induction of the interim government, which like him is also led by a prominent figure from the banking domain. Soomro has been chairman of the Senate or upper house of the parliament, which remains intact, and is likely to return to his parliamentary post after the elections.

Musharraf praised the outgoing cabinet and urged the new government to act with "only one thing in mind - Pakistan comes first and every individual comes second".

Meanwhile, Bhutto, speaking to reporters in Lahore, called for an immediate end to the state of emergency and described the caretaker set-up as "an extension" of Musharraf's ally, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q.