Pakistan leader to quit army this month

[brooklynite]

Source: AP

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Wednesday he expects to step down as army chief by the end of November and begin a new presidential term as a civilian, warning that Pakistan risked chaos if he gave into opposition demands to resign.

In an interview with The Associated Press, he accused former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, currently under house arrest, of fueling political turmoil and rejected Western pressure to quickly lift emergency rule, which he indicated was likely to continue through the January elections.

"All those who are blunt enough to tell me to my face what the reality is, all of them think, yes, it will lead the country to chaos if I do not handle the political environment now with me remaining as the president," he said at his army office.

The U.S.-backed general had originally planned to quit as chief of the powerful army by Thursday, when his presidential mandate and the term of the current parliament expire, but he said he was forced to delay the restoration of civilian rule until a court ruling on his recent re-election.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071114/ap_on_re_as/pakistan

[soothsayer]

1. why not today

[Igel]

6. If he resigns today and the SC rules his election illegal,

he's out on his ear.

It's unclear who would appoint the caretaker government. Presumably the SC. But that would add a bit of instability. I think the country needs a bit less instability, even without the NWFP "problem".

One conservative contribution to political thought that I think tends to be true is the observation that highly authoritarian governments transitioning to more liberal governments tend to suffer from a period of high instability; I'm not sure I buy the J-curve formalization of the observation, but it tends to hold fairly often (then again, it doesn't claim to be more than a universal tendency). It's an observation that *'s advisors should have paid attention to. Clinton's, too.

[acmavm]

2. How many times has this guy said he's gonna resign (and then

never does)?

Whatever.

[maddezmom]

3. kick

[shenmue]

4. Musharraf 'will quit army soon'

Source: BBC

"Pakistan's attorney general says he expects President Musharraf to resign as army head before 1 December."

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7096381.stm

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I suspect he won't stick to it. Even if he does, civil war could be right around the corner.

[Ian David]

5. Will he be joining The Texas Air National Guard? n/t