August 11, 2007	Saturday	Rajab 26, 1428

LONDON, Aug 10: Three major British newspapers in their editorials on Friday asked President Gen Pervez Musharraf to stop trying to cling to power by hook or crook and pave the way for a peaceful transition from the military to civilian government.

The three have also analysed the emerging crises in the country in separate articles by their columnists with each blaming Gen Musharraf for his current troubles.

The Times’ editorial (Musharraf on the brink) said the sticking point was his refusal to doff his uniform.

“He clearly has doubts about the loyalty of both the army and the ISI intelligence agency, both of which have been infiltrated by Islamists, and fears (based perhaps on his own example) that any new army head might harbour political ambitions. He argues to his American supporters that Pakistan faces a challenge by extremists, and that he must remain in power to fight them,” Times concluded.

And the Daily Telegraph’s editorial (President Musharraf must look for a successor) says: “Like many dictators before him, President Musharraf evidently considers himself essential to his country’s stability, and that belief has until recently been fostered by the West. But several factors have conspired to dent his reputation: the resurgence of the Pushtun rebels and foreign jihadists, the embarrassingly long siege of the Red Mosque in Islamabad and his abortive attempt to sack the Chief Justice, where he was overruled by the Supreme Court.”

The Guardian’s editorial (State of many emergencies) observed that the old dogma of Pakistan’s army, “that the country fares better under its generals than its politicians, is no longer true. If the general wants to survive as a political leader he should take off his uniform, put it in the cupboard and leave it there”.

Tariq Ali writing in the Guardian (Pakistan’s people want an end to the nightmare) says the military gave up being a lobby that tries to influence an elected government a long time ago, and became a permanent conspiracy to replace any government that did not do its bidding. The three popular figures within the military academies in Pakistan are Napoleon, De Gaulle and Kemal Ataturk. The first provided a legal code still in force. The second pulled France out of Nato and denounced US imperialism. The third separated religion from the state. Pakistan’s uniformed despots have so far failed on every count.

Bronwen Maddox in an article in the Times (Faced with ugly choices, the general descends deeper into his labyrinth) advises the president to resign from the army and run on his otherwise ‘commendable’ record.

“Islamist militants command little popular support: it was not the storming of the Red Mosque that brought crowds on to the street but the dismissal of the Chief Justice. General Musharraf should resign from the army ... seek political compromise and run on his otherwise commendable record,” Maddox observed.