AP article posted on Wall Street Journal
LAHORE, Pakistan – President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said he expects to step down as Pakistan army chief by the end of November and begin a new presidential term as a civilian.
In an interview, he blamed former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, currently under house arrest for at least another day, 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.
The Bush administration, meanwhile, said it was sending its No. 2 diplomat to Pakistan to urge Gen. Musharraf to rescind emergency rule.
Authorities put Ms. Bhutto under house arrest Tuesday for the second time since her return from exile, and a senior federal government official said that she was grounded until at least Thursday.
"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.
Ms. Bhutto said Tuesday that she was working to forge a partnership with Nawaz Sharif, the man overthrown as prime minister in a 1999 coup by Gen. Musharraf. She demanded that Gen. Musharraf step down, dashing Western hopes that the two moderate leaders would form an alliance to confront strengthening Islamic extremists.
Another opposition leader, cricket legend Imran Khan, was arrested after he showed up at a student rally in Lahore, police said, effectively silencing the only one of the general's outspoken critics who hadn't been in detention or exile. He was charged under Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Act, which includes penalties that can carry the death sentence or life imprisonment.
Mr. Khan, who has been in hiding since escaping from house arrest a day after emergency rule was declared, surfaced at a student demonstration in Lahore on Wednesday, was promptly detained by hard-line students and handed over to police, authorities said.
Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte was expected Friday in Pakistan, where rallies have been banned and independent TV news blacked out.
"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 told reporters in Washington. "We want to see all moderate political forces be able to work together," Mr. Casey said.
However, Ms. Bhutto said she would no longer try to work with Gen. Musharraf. "The international community needs to decide whether it will go with one man or the people of Pakistan," Ms. Bhutto said by telephone Tuesday from the house where she is being held in Lahore.
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