Musharraf, the Army Chief of General Staff, was fired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday without warning, but within hours had turned the tables as his troops swiftly took control of strategic points throughout the country, and placed Sharif in `protective custody'.

Few troops were visible on the roads of the Capital today, except those guarding buildings and strategic installations seized last evening.

State media said a bank holiday had been called, and the chairman of the Karachi Stock Exchange told Reuters the share market would not open.

``Everything was normal except for Army troops in front of the Redco building,'' said a witness who drove through the main commercial district of the spacious capital. The Redco building is owned by Senator Saifur Rehman, a close aide of Sharif's who is also incustody.

Early this morning, Musharraf appealed for calm and support for the armed forces in a brief televised speech. Clad in his Special Service Group fatigues, Musharraf said that Pakistan's armed forces had acted to save the country as it was on the verge of collapse due to the economic and political policies of the government of Nawaz Sharif.

Speaking from Karachi, in crisp English, Musharraf said that at the moment he would not give any lengthy policy statement but stressed that the army's move had come because the institution itself was under attack due to the policies of Nawaz Sharif.

Giving his own example, Musharraf claimed that on his return from Sri Lanka, where he had gone on an official visit, his flight back, which was a commercial Pakistan Airlines plane, was diverted ``at great risk to the plane and passengers.''

``It was only after effective military control that the plane was allowed to land in Karachi,'' said the Pakistani general.

He did not elaborate on the set-up of his newgovernment or any plans about what his status was under the new arrangement.

Musharraf said that he had acted in the ``national interest'' and after incessant ``public clamour for army action''. He said that the priority of the government was the re-establishment of order.

According to reports, Nawaz Sharif is under house arrest ever since he dismissed Musharraf on Tuesday in a surprise move that has caught most Pakistanis off guard.

The dismissal was followed by a rapid movement of army personnel throughout the federal capital and in the Punjab provincial capital of Lahore, Sharif's hometown.

Soldiers also have taken over the houses of government officials, according to witnesses who saw soldiers lock the gate of the Information Minister Mushahid Hussein's house.

In Lahore, soldiers in jeeps and trucks have taken up positions on the main mall road and at government buildings.

There have been no announcements by either Sharif or the army since Musharraf's dismissal was announced. The dismissal,which was announced by state-run television as an early retirement, took the military by surprise.

``We don't know anything... go to the defence ministry or to the prime minister's house. Like you, we also have heard (it) on television,'' Col. Salaut Raza of the military's information wing said.

Musharraf's address to the nation was brief. He said the army takeover was a response to public demand. ``The armed forces have been facing incessant public clamor to remedy the fast declining situation from all sides of the political divide,'' he said.

As troops moved through the main cities, many Pakistanis danced in the streets and waved flags, celebrating the ouster of a government that had become increasingly unpopular because of its heavy-handed rule.

In an apparent warning to India, Musharraf said ``no outside forces'' should try to take advantage of the ``prevailing situation in Pakistan... we shall preserve the integrity and sovereignty of our country to the last drop of blood.''

Many countries,including the US, were quick to express concern over the situation in Pakistan, which has spent some half of its 52 years under military rule. The US said Washington would seek a prompt return to democracy and there could be no ``business as usual''.

But a senior official declined to call it a military coup or say it violated the Pakistani Constitution. He criticized Sharif for cracking down on the press and on Opposition political parties.

Meanwhile, a former Pakistan Chief of Staff said Gen Musharraf would set up an interim government that would be in a position to sort out Pakistan's problems and last about two years. Aslam Baig, on a visit to Germany, said the coup was only to be expected because Sharif's government had mistreated the Army.

``Musharraf will announce an interim government which will last two years or so,'' Baig said. ``It will examine the accountability of many of the leaders who are known to be corrupt and who must be called to account.''