By Zaffar Abbas BBC correspondent in Islamabad

Pakistan's military ruler, President Pervez Musharraf, has strongly defended his three years in power and advised a future civilian government to consolidate his reforms.

He was speaking on the eve of a parliamentary vote to elect the country's first prime minister since the 1999 coup in which he took power.

The due role that I have I shall always continue to play for the protection and progress of Pakistan

President Musharraf

In a nationwide television address, General Musharraf said he would fulfil his promise to hand over the responsibilities of government "in the next one or two days".

But he gave absolutely no indication that he was planning to step down, either as the country's president or the chief of the army.

In fact, he completely ignored the on-going debate in the newly-elected parliament over his role in a civilian set-up, and the controversial amendments he has introduced to the constitution.

Those include institutionalising the role of the military in the governance of the country.

Reforms

General Musharraf's speech largely focused on his government's performance of the last three years.

He described it as a satisfying experience and said he had been able to put the country's political and economic system on the right track before fulfilling the promise to hold elections and return the country to democratic rule.

He said when the military seized power in October 1999, the country was faced with serious political and economic problems.

But during his three-year rule, wide-ranging reforms had been introduced to end corruption and to change the country's political culture.

Pakistan, he said, had been taken out of troubled waters and it was now time for the new government to consolidate the reforms introduced by his administration.

It is highly unlikely that General Musharraf's speech on the eve of the election for the new prime minister will end the controversy over the role of the country's powerful military, once a civilian government is installed.

If anything, it may spark a new and perhaps a bitter debate when the parliament meets on Thursday.