September 06, 2007	Thursday	Sha'aban 23, 1428

WASHINGTON, Sept 5: President Gen Pervez Musharraf, boxed into a political corner by his rivals, may declare a state of emergency to salvage himself, ruling PML chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain told the Washington Post.

The Post noted that later this month, President Gen Musharraf faced re-election by parliament and provincial assemblies, but civil unrest was turning violent and he had significant opposition in parliament.

President Gen Musharraf also faces constitutional hurdles, the report adds. Under the law, government employees must resign and wait for two years before they can run for president and Gen Musharraf is a government employee in his role as chief of the army.

The report notes that the Supreme Court is already dealing with the issue and the government fears that the court may decide against the president. In his interview to the Post, Mr Hussain said if the court ruled against the president, he might have no option but to declare a state of emergency and to postpone elections for up to a year. A case challenging Gen Musharraf’s eligibility began on Wednesday, with Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry leading the bench. Mr Hussain said he was not optimistic about the president’s chances there.

“It looks like zero,” he said, before adding that there was still a possibility other judges would vote in the president’s favour.

If the president lost before the Supreme Court, Mr Hussain said, Musharraf’s “presidency will be over” unless he took one of two steps. He could declare emergency rule, which Mr Hussain called “the last option”, or he could call parliamentary elections before the presidential vote.

The Post, however, noted that both options would be major gambles. It recalled that Gen Musharraf seemed on the verge of declaring an emergency last month, reportedly on the advice of Mr Hussain and others. But he backed down under domestic and international pressure, including from Washington.

“Martial law is a very harsh word,” Mr Hussain told the Post. “Emergency rule is not so harsh.”

The Post observed that Mr Hussain’s comments came hours after nearly simultaneous bombs tore through a market and a bus in Rawalpindi. Mr Hussain’s comments also came as government negotiators made a last-ditch effort to strike a deal with former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who could rescue him politically in exchange for a shot at returning to power herself, the Post said.

The Post quoted political analysts as saying that if Gen Musharraf lacked Ms Bhutto’s support for a parliamentary waiver of the requirement, the Supreme Court would declare his presidential candidacy invalid. A deal with Ms Bhutto, however, could give Mr Musharraf additional leverage, though Mr Hussain, who has been a critic of the negotiations, said he believed there was only a 20 per cent chance of an agreement.