Musharraf expects to quit army post by end of November

Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf says he expects to step down from his role as army chief by the end of November and begin a new presidential term as a civilian, but the timing ultimately depends on a ruling by the Supreme Court, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on Wednesday.
(B.K.Bangash/Associated Press)

In an interview with the news agency, Musharraf said opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was fuelling political turmoil and rejected her demands to resign as army chief and president at the same time.

"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.

He reiterated that emergency rule will likely last through the January parliamentary election, a move that has caused opposition parties to question whether the vote will be free and fair. 

There has been growing pressure at home and abroad for Musharraf to end the state of emergency he enacted on Nov. 3.

Shortly before last month's presidential election, the general had stated he would quit as army chief after the expiry of his presidential mandate and the term of the current parliament. Both were to expire Thursday.

Before enacting the state of emergency, Musharraf had been awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on the legality of his re-election in a parliamentary vote. But the declaration of emergency rule prevented the ruling from being handed down and led to Musharraf purging the court of its independent-minded judges.

During Wednesday's interview, Musharraf said that the timing of his resignation as army chief will depend on the top court's ruling, which he said he expects to come later this month.

Opposition leaders detained

The emergency rule has also resulted in a blackout of independent media and a ban on rallies.

The latest arrest of an opposition politician as a result of that ban on demonstrations was star cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who was arrested by police Wednesday when he made his first public appearance since emergency rule began.

Khan, who leads the small opposition party Tehrik-I-Insaf but is best-known for his time as the captain of Pakistan's cricket team, was taken into custody at a student rally in Lahore while protesting President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's state of emergency. Khan had been hiding since escaping house arrest a day after emergency rule was declared.

Some 200 student supporters cheered wildly and lifted Khan into the air when he arrived at the university campus.

But other students representing the hardline Jamaat-e-Islami party were upset by his presence and hustled him to a nearby building, senior police official Aftab Cheema told the Associated Press.

The hardline student group said it is opposed Musharraf's emergency rule, but was apparently angered that the relatively moderate Khan was allowed on the campus.

Imran Khan, unseen, is taken away in a white van from Punjab University after attempting to join a demonstration against the imposed emergency rule in Lahore, Pakistan, on Wednesday.
(Wally Santana/Associated Press)

Cheema said the students then placed Khan in a van and took him to the campus gate where they handed him over to police.

Khan is being held in an undisclosed location and charges have not yet been determined, said Cheema.

Before his arrest, Khan was one of Musharraf's most outspoken critics not yet in detention or exile. Thousands of lawyers, human rights activists and opposition members have been arrested while protesting in defiance of a ban on rallies.

Bhutto, who leads the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party and served two terms as prime minister, remained under house arrest Wednesday after she was detained the day before. It was the second time in less than a week that police have detained her in an effort to stop her from leading protests.

A senior official said Wednesday she will remain under house arrest until at least Thursday.

"The position for her will remain like this until at least tomorrow. Then the government will review what to do with her," the official said on condition of anonymity because the matter was politically sensitive and no decision had been taken to release her.

Bhutto has 'no right' to demand he quit: Musharraf

From behind the padlocked home surrounded by thousands of riot police and barricades, Bhutto told reporters over the telephone that Musharraf should resign and that she's been working with other opposition parties to form an alliance against him.

Bhutto stated on Tuesday she is working to create a partnership with Nawaz Sharif, who was overthrown as prime minister in a 1999 bloodless coup by Musharraf.

Bhutto's latest statements have dashed Western hopes the two pro-U.S. leaders would form an alliance to fight Islamic extremists.

Musharraf, who is facing growing pressure at home and abroad to end emergency rule and restore democracy, responded to Bhutto's comments by saying she "has no right" to ask him to resign.

In an interview with the New York Times on Wednesday, he accused Bhutto of exaggerating her popular support. "Let's start the elections and let's see whether she wins," Musharraf was quoted as saying.

U.S. sends No. 2 diplomat to press Musharraf

Musharraf's critics accuse him of enacting emergency rule to hold onto power; Musharraf maintains it was enacted so he could work to curb extremism.

The U.S. government, meanwhile, is sending its No. 2 diplomat to Pakistan to urge the general to rescind its emergency rule.

Washington has criticized Pakistan's crackdown on dissent, but has not pulled millions of dollars in funding to its key ally in the so-called war on terror.

When Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte arrives in Pakistan on Friday, he is expected to underscore U.S. concerns about the situation.

"We continue to want to see elections move forward in a free, fair and transparent manner [and] we want to see the emergency decree lifted," deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said. "We want to see all moderate political forces be able to work together.

With files from the Associated Press