Army still backs me: Musharraf

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KARACHI, Jul 5 (AFP): President Pervez Musharraf insisted Friday that Pakistan's powerful army still supports him, but he said he would step down if he thought it would solve all of the country's problems.

Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, blasted "hypocrites" for saying that the nuclear-armed Islamic republic's 500,000-strong military had turned against him since he stepped down as army chief last November.

"The army will never leave me alone," Musharraf told a meeting of business leaders in the southern port city of Karachi. "Those who said the armed forces are not with me are the worst hypocrites and rumourmongers."

The US-backed leader, a key ally in Washington's "war on terror", has been on the defensive since parties led by slain former premier Benazir Bhutto and ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif won elections in February.

Pakistani newspapers have been filled with reports in recent weeks about the relationship between Musharraf and his successor as chief of army staff, General Ashfaq Kayani.

Musharraf however rejected calls by Sharif and other opposition figures for him to quit as president. Musharraf's fate has caused a split within the ruling coalition led by the parties of Bhutto and Sharif.

"I am not leaving Pakistan, I am not leaving the country to get a mansion in America or Turkey and why should I do this? I have committed no crime or sin," Musharraf said.