CAIRO: The military officers governing Egypt have convened a panel of jurists, including an outspoken Muslim Brotherhood politician, to revise the constitution in the first tangible evidence of a commitment to move the country towards democracy after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak.

In an incongruous scene - unimaginable just one month ago - Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the Defence Minister acting as chief of state, appointed a panel of eight experts led by a retired judge known as a leading critic of the Mubarak government.

Egyptian exodus ... a boat believed to be carrying Egyptians arrives in southern Italy, adding to the thousands of Tunisians fleeing turmoil in their country. Credit:AP

Though the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which seized power with Mr Mubarak's exit, has repeatedly pledged to uphold the goals of the revolution, many in the opposition have questioned the army's willingness to submit to a civilian democracy. The Guardian reported that some in the opposition fear the military is trying to develop a system that looks ''vaguely democratic but in reality just entrenches their own privileges'' after six decades of military-backed strongmen.

On Tuesday, however, several opposition figures said they felt heartened. ''The move to appoint the panel is the first concrete thing the army has done since taking over,'' said Hossam Bahgat, a prominent civil rights lawyer and Mubarak critic. ''We have only had communiques.''