Peshawar 31 Jan: A group of retired Pakistani military officers have urged President Pervez Musharraf to step down and hand over power to the chief justice he sacked nearly three months ago.

The demand came at a meeting of the Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society in Islamabad, the latest show of dissent against former army chief Musharraf by the group of 200 retired generals, air marshals and other officers.

"Musharraf should step down and hand over power to Justice [Iftikhar Muhammad] Chaudhry, who is still constitutional chief justice," former Pakistan Air Force chief Asghar Khan told reporters.

He said Mr Chaudhry, who was sacked by Mr Musharraf on November 3 under a state of emergency and is still under house arrest - should form a neutral caretaker government to supervise free and fair elections next month.

"We do not recognise any electoral process under Musharraf and the present election commission," Mr Khan said, adding that another senior former judge Rana Bhagwandas should be appointed election commissioner.

Last week more than 100 senior officers from the society issued an open letter calling on Mr Musharraf to quit.

Former army chief general Mirza Aslam Beg, who headed the military from 1988 to 1991, said Mr Musharraf had tarnished the image of the armed forces and called on all ex-servicemen to help restore it.

"We should also work together to strengthen democracy by removing the only impediment in its way - Pervez Musharraf," he told reporters.

Lawyers held nationwide protests and burned an effigy of Mr Musharraf in protest at the continued detention of Mr Chaudhry.