Musharraf says yes to Jan polls but has no plans to lift emergency yet

Bush said Saturday that he supported Musharraf because “we share a common goal” in the fight against the al- Qaeda, an endorsement the General appeared to use to his advantage on Sunday as he justified his extrajudicial measures.

“I cannot give a date,” Musharraf said when asked directly about the lifting of the emergency decree. “We are in a difficult situation, therefore I cannot give a date.” He added: “The emergency reinforces the war on terror.”

He also declined to give a date for stepping down as military leader, a move that the US and other Western countries have requested as a sign of his seriousness about a transition to democracy.

At one point Musharraf said: “I had to take a drastic measure to save the democratic process.” The President described his action as a selfless one. “I found myself between a rock and a hard surface. I have no egos and no personal ambitions to guard.”

His voice often raised, General Musharraf lectured Pakistani and foreign journalists seated before him in the chandeliered presidential building, complaining that the West did not understand Pakistan. On the other hand, he said, foreign leaders had called him in the last few days and expressed “understanding” regarding his actions.

Musharraf was also dismissive of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, saying her support was much less than she or others thought, particularly in the rural areas of Punjab. “There is no point in a personality getting in touch with me,” Musharraf said. Instead there has to be a reconciliation through political parties.

During his sometimes-rambling discourse, Musharraf spent 15 minutes lashing out at the ousted chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, whom he called profligate and a man who abused civil servants. “Nobody is above the law, ladies and gentlemen,” he said, referring to Chaudhry.

Musharraf’s aides said the General planned to take off his uniform and become a civilian president when the newly formed Supreme Court validates his re-election of mid-October.

But it was far from clear when this would happen. A new court was formed last week to replace the Supreme Court, but it has only nine judges, all of them favourably disposed to Musharraf. To make a decision on a case, the Supreme Court needs a bench of 11 justices. A lawyer in Islamabad, Athar Minallah, who was a member of Musharraf’s cabinet, said the government was probably stalling on finding a full complement of judges. Once 11 members are on the bench, the judges would almost certainly validate Musharraf’s re-election, but that in turn would put some pressure on the General to give up his uniform, Minallah said. There is some speculation among lawyers that the government could not find enough justices willing to join what they considered a tainted court.

In another signal that the General was strengthening his grip on power, the government announced on Saturday that it had amended an army law so that civilians could be charged and prosecuted before military courts. The last time court martials of civilians in Pakistan were carried out was during the 11-year rule of General Zia ul-Haq. Two Baluchistan politicians would be charged with treason for protesting against the emergency rule under this. Among the reasons that a civilian could appear before a military court would be the burning of military uniforms, presidential aides said after the press conference.