LONDON, Sept 19: Discussing in its leader — “A general in civvies” — on Wednesday President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s undertaking to the Supreme Court that he would give up his army post if “re-elected,” The Guardian newspaper wondered how long would he survive in civvies as president.

The newspaper has raised this question in view of what it believes to be the president’s lack of any natural political constituency and also because he has lately made himself deeply unpopular.

According to The Guardian, Musharraf has been reluctant to end military rule because it would mean abandoning his only source of power and “if he leaves the army he loses operational control over it and with it the ability to contain dissent”.

Pointing to two major hurdles still in the way of a smooth passage to a second term for a civilian Musharraf, the newspaper said that he would first have to get past the Supreme Court which is hearing a number of petitions challenging his right to contest election in uniform from the current assemblies and then contest the polls in the face of a determined attempt by opposition parties to render the vote invalid by resigning en masse.