[NYTr] Musharraf plans to become civilian president

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Reuters - Sep 17, 2007
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSISL3166920070917?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

General Musharraf plans to become civilian president

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf plans to
quit as army chief to become a civilian leader, removing a main
objection to his proposed re-election in October, a senior ruling party
official said on Monday.

"We expect that after his re-election process next month, God willing,
General Musharraf would take his oath of office as a civilian president
before November 15," Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, secretary-general
of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), told Reuters.

U.S. ally Musharraf retained the post of army chief after he seized
power in a military coup in 1999, despite calls from the opposition to
quit the dual office.

His acquiescence could be seen as a victory for Benazir Bhutto, who has
said that any power-sharing arrangement with Musharraf would depend,
among other things, on him becoming a civilian president.

Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party announced on Friday the two-time
former prime minister would return to Pakistan on October 18, ending
more than eight years of self-exile.

Giving up the army role would undoubtedly dilute Musharraf's power in a
country that has been ruled by generals for more than half the 60 years
since it was founded.

It will also be a wrench for a life-long soldier who described his
uniform as a "second skin". But aides say Musharraf has been reconciled
to quitting the army for months.

Senator Sayed said Musharraf would abide by the constitution and quit
the army before the end of 2007. Musharraf's term as president expires
on November 15.

"Yes, I have no doubt that the president will keep his commitment,"
said Sayed, who recently met Musharraf.

"He is clear on this issue."

The United States is keenly watching the fate of Musharraf, as
instability in a nuclear-armed state where al Qaeda militants are based
and from where Taliban insurgents are fighting Western forces in
Afghanistan could have far-reaching consequences.

Neighboring India is also monitoring events in Pakistan, with a peace
process between the rivals still to yield substantial results after
more than 3 ½ years.

LEGAL THREAT

Before quitting the army, Musharraf planned to seek another five-year
term as president from the sitting parliament by October 15, Sayed
said. A general election is due by mid-January.

The PML and its allies have a majority in parliament, but several
members of the ruling coalition have reservations about voting
Musharraf another term while he remains in uniform.

An alliance of opposition parties has also threatened to resign from
parliament if Musharraf goes ahead with his re-election plans. A
walk-out would not affect the election but it would dent its
credibility.

Bhutto's PPP is not part of the opposition alliance, whose main member
is a Pakistan Muslim League faction led by Nawaz Sharif, the prime
minister Musharraf ousted in 1999 and last week dispatched to Saudi
Arabia after he tried to return from exile.

But the most significant threat to Musharraf's re-election plans could
come from a Supreme Court regarded as hostile after the general's
ill-fated attempt to fire the chief justice.

On Monday, the court took up six challenges from Musharraf's opponents
-- including the Jamaat-e-Islami religious party,
cricketer-turn-politician Imran Khan and a lawyers' forum -- against
his bid for re-election and against his keeping the two offices of
president and army chief.

"This is about the future of the country, the future of 160 million
people," Akram Sheikh, an Islamic party lawyer, told the court. A judge
said the court might reach a decision in a week.

If the court blocks Musharraf's re-election he might dissolve the
assemblies and seek a mandate from the parliament returned by a general
election, or more drastically, he might opt for emergency rule or
martial law.

(Additional reporting by Kamran Haider)