ISLAMABAD (AFP) -- Pakistan's army chief is withdrawing hundreds of officers from civilian positions in the government, officials said, in a move widely seen as reducing the military's involvement in politics.

General Ashfaq Kayani, who took over from President Pervez Musharraf as army chief in November, has ordered 311 officers to return to their jobs in the armed forces, a military spokesman told AFP.
The move comes just days ahead of general elections in which polls say Musharraf's allies are trailing behind opposition groups led by the party of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto.
Chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said the officers were needed back in the army for duties both inside and outside the country.
“We are calling 311 officers back from the civilian departments because we need them now to meet our own requirements,” Abbas said.
Pakistani media have widely reported that Kayani wants to improve the army's image after Musharraf spent nine years in a dual civilian-military role following the 1999 coup that brought him to power.
Kayani approved the withdrawal of serving officers from civilian departments at a meeting of the army's corps commanders in Rawalpindi on February 7, a military statement said.
“The serving officers whose services are essentially required by the government in these departments will be bare minimum and others will be reverted soon,” the statement said.
The statement also said that Kayani had “re-emphasized that the conduct of free and fair elections is the sole responsibility of the Election Commission.”
Kayani is reportedly close to Musharraf but keen nevertheless to reduce the army's role in politics. The army said he had declared 2008 the “Year of the Soldier”. -