President says he won’t leave in chaos

RAWALPINDI—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, he blamed former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, currently under house arrest, for 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, speaking at his army office.
A senior official said Wednesday that Benazir Bhutto will remain under house arrest for at least another day, while the Bush administration sent its No. 2 diplomat to Pakistan to urge President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to rescind emergency rule. Meanwhile, another opposition leader was arrested after he showed up at a student rally in Lahore, police said. Imran Khan, a cricket legend who leads a small but outspoken opposition party, was the only one of Musharraf’s most outspoken critics not in detention or exile.
Authorities put Bhutto under house arrest Tuesday for the second time in a week, and a senior federal government official told that she was grounded 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 made to release her.
Bhutto said Tuesday she was working to forge a partnership with Nawaz Sharif, the man overthrown as prime minister in a 1999 coup by Musharraf. She demanded that Musharraf step down, dashing Western hopes the two moderate leaders would form an alliance to confront strengthening Islamic extremists. Bhutto’s call, which could see Pakistan’s two main opposition parties joining, raised a new threat for Musharraf, a key U.S. ally who faces growing pressure at home and abroad to end emergency rule and restore democracy. It further complicated matters for Washington, which has criticized Musharraf’s recent crackdown on dissent but sees him as a dependable partner against al-Qaida.
President General Pervez Musharraf aid Wednesday that the induction of authentic and impartial persons would be ensured in the interim setup. Talking to an international news agency at the Presidential House here, he said the West and media played dishonestly with him.
Benazir Bhutto was put under house arrest in view of security apprehensions, the president said adding it was impossible for him to permit a large rally in such a populated area as Liaquat Bagh and in the present situation, taking out a big rally would be a wrong step, as the same happened in Karachi.—Agencies