MicroPakistan

This is an ongoing debate. Could it be true this time around? I really doubt we’ll be seeing him take off his uniform anytime soon. The report says he will appoint a reliable and trustworthy general as COAS. Can anyone really be trusted with power? There is no limit to a man’s desire for power and if Musharraf really wants to mantain control he’d be foolish to hand it over to someone else. And he’s not foolish.

WASHINGTON - US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns has revealed that President General Pervez Musharraf has given assurance to leave the office of the Chief of the Army Staff before the elections.

He also expressed hope that he (Musharraf) would keep his words and doff the uniform before elections. He said that the United States would continue to play its role for bringing real democracy in Pakistan.

The political and diplomatic circles in Washington are attaching great importance to Nicholas Burns’ statement.

A diplomatic source told The Nation that Nicholas Burns statement would have significant impact on the politics in Pakistan, saying that Musharraf was planning to appoint a reliable and trustworthy general as COAS, and become president for the next five years. A reliable source, on condition of anonymity, said that Burns’ statement was of extraordinary importance.

The number of Musharraf’s opponents is increasing due to operation in Waziristan. His rivals are of the opinion that no army in the world can attack its own people, and Musharraf has failed in saving his fellow countrymen from American cruelties.

On the other hand, an Indian newspaper has posted a report on its website that presently President Musharraf is under growing US pressure and the troops carrying out operation in Waziristan are also coming under mental stress just as the US troops have come under pressure in Afghanistan and Iraq. The report further revealed that the US media has continuously been advising President George W Bush not to trust General Musharraf any more. -The Nation