WASHINGTON, Sept 18: The military may counter any move that prevents President Gen Pervez Musharraf from seeking re-election by imposing martial law, warns I. A. Rahman, a leading Pakistani intellectual.

Mr Rahman, who is visiting Washington, told a group of South Asian journalists that the military in Pakistan was not yet willing to transfer control to a civilian set-up and would resist any move to end its control over political institutions, such as the government.

He said the military had tremendous interest in the civilian economy and was not willing to give it up any time soon.

Mr Rahman believed that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s attempt to return home failed to bring the people out in the streets because his party had not made sufficient preparations for the event.

The PML-N, he said, also expected the Jamaat-i-Islami to bring its workers to Islamabad airport but the Jamaat failed to deliver. The JI leaders, he said, were focused on keeping the MMA intact and were not yet ready to accept another major political task.

Similarly, the JUI and Maulana Fazlur Rahman had not yet decided whether they need to derail the political set-up created by the Musharraf regime, as it allowed religious parties to emerge as a major political force in the country.

Mr Rahman said that while the present government was unpopular, people were not yet willing to offer sacrifices to topple the government.

“If the forthcoming elections are free and fair, the PML-N will take Punjab but there’s no guarantee that the elections will be free and fair,” he said.

Mr Rahman felt that despite legal and political hurdles, Gen Musharraf may succeed in getting re-elected as president from the present assembly.

“And if he is re-elected for another five-year term, those who win the next election may not want to rock the boat either,” he added. “But if Gen Musharraf fails to get re-elected, the army may bring another general,” he warned.