They appointed four civilians to the National Security Council (NSC), which will he headed by army leader Gen Pervez Musharraf and include heads of the navy and air force. It will be the nation's top executive body.

An official announcement also named civilians as ministers of foreign affairs, finance and as attorney-general, giving the army-led administration a liberal face untainted by links to the two parties which have ruled Pakistan for a decade. `It's a liberal, moderate cabinet with internationally known Pakistanis who will be recognised abroad to a certain extent,' said Ahmed Rashid, a writer on Pakistani affairs.

Civilians on the council include State (Central) Bank governor Mohammad Yaqub and the only woman, Attiya Inayatullah, a one-time population minister and former representative tothe UNESCO, the UN's educational and scientific arm.

The other two are Sharifuddin Pirzada, a constitutional expert, who was appointed senior advisor to Musharraf and the most senior civilian on the council. Imtiaz Sahibzada, a retired senior civil servant, completed the four-member civilian presence on the NSC.

None of those named has direct links to the Pakistan Muslim League of former PM Nawaz Sharif, who was overthrown on October 12, or to Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party.

`The direction is clearly liberal, moderate, trying to end Pakistan's isolation from the international community because of its past foreign policy and also ending isolation from the MFIs,' Rashid said.