I Changed My Mind

If President Pervez Musharraf wanted to convince Pakistan that he is serious about restoring democracy, he’d step down as army chief. In December 2003, Musharraf made a public vow to a block of legislators that he would mothball his uniform by the end of last year. But in a special address to the nation last week, Musharraf explained: “I have decided to retain both offices. In my view, any change to internal or external policies could be extremely dangerous for Pakistan.”

Many doubted Musharraf’s intention from the start. The military is Pakistan’s strongest institution and a new army Chief of Staff could be a serious rival for power. The group of legislators, from an Islamic coalition, howled about Musharraf’s about-face, but in November, Parliament practically begged him to stay in fatigues by passing a bill allowing him to hold two officesa tricky constitutional maneuver in Pakistan. Plenty of Pakistanis agree that Musharraf might be necessary at a time of domestic extremism and ongoing peace talks with India. (Staunch ally Washington certainly does.) “Pakistan has never seen the successful transfer of power from one civilian government to another,” says Dr. Rifaat Hussain, a professor at Islamabad’s Quaid-i-Azam University. “If Musharraf can guide the government to its first completed term in 2007, it will be a significant achievement.”

To buoy public support, Musharraf seems to be cozying up to former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, both of whom are in enforced exile; Bhutto’s husband, Asif Zardari, was recently released from jail, where he had been held for eight years on corruption charges. Reconciliation could lead to a promising tableau: a general-cum-President sharing democratic space with the leaders of Pakistan’s two main political parties.