Musharraf May Relinquish Role as Army Chief

Aug. 30, 2007 -- Exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said Wednesday that President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has agreed to discard his uniform and relinquish his role as the army chief -- a key condition of an otherwise strange political pairing.

Although there has been no official confirmation from the Pakistani president, the announcement comes amid tense negotiations between Bhutto and Musharraf over a power sharing agreement which, they hope, will consolidate their majority in parliament and remove obstacles for each to run for re-election.

"Eighty to 90 percent of the issues have been settled. Ten to 20 percent have yet to be decided," Bhutto said from London in a local Pakistani television interview.

Parts of the negotiations center on securing the embattled military ruler's support for another run for president -- which would give him another five-year term -- as well as limiting presidential powers, particularly, the president's ability to dissolve parliament. Bhutto, for her part, is also looking to remove legal obstacles to her potential third term as prime minister, as well as corruption charges against her.

Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party is the largest in the country. And while Musharraf loyalists currently hold a majority in parliament -- with enough votes to win re-election -- the ongoing discussions hope to yield stronger support for the army general who is facing increasing protests from an emboldened opposition over his lingering military role.

Musharraf has long stated his intention to abide by the constitution and eventually end his dual role as president and chief of army at the end of this year. However, many skeptics would point out that the hybrid role itself is a product of an amendment to the constitution he engineered.

The contentious uniform issue and the subsequent discussions with Bhutto have led to increasing defections from both parties' support base.

Similarly, a spate of Supreme Court decisions have further eroded his following, most notably the July reinstatement of a chief justice who Musharraf suspended two months earlier, and a quick court ruling allowing the other exiled opposition leader and Musharraf's bitter rival, Nawaz Sharif, to return to Pakistan.

In October 1999, Sharif sacked then Musharraf as army chief and tried preventing an aircraft carrying him back from Sri Lanka from landing at Karachi airport.

The military, with Musharraf at the helm, quickly staged a coup and deposed Sharif. He was charged with endangering the lives of the passengers and sentenced to life in prison. The next year, Musharraf pardoned Sharif, and instead exiled him in Saudi Arabia for 10 years until the Supreme Court's ruling last week.

That ruling gave Sharif and his anti-military stance some much needed momentum and in a recent interview with the Financial Times, he said he expects to return to Pakistan within two weeks.

According to some observers, it will be Sharif who will most likely benefit from the political realignments being discussed.

But Musharraf may not have many other options in front of him. His term as president comes to an end in November and a new parliament will also have to be elected before then.

Musharraf is a crucial United States ally in the war on terror, and keeping him in power, or at least with a share of power, is obviously of interest to the United States. Thus any deal with Bhutto could be the least worst option.

Sharif has been a vocal critic of the United States and the military activities in the country's tribal North West Frontier Province. Still, the U.S. administration has stuck to the official line.

"The primary concern for the United States in Pakistan is that there be free, credible and transparent elections there, and elections that allow the Pakistani people to have a real and full choice among all the legitimate political actors and parties in the country," said Tom Casey, the State Department's deputy spokesman.