Is it just me or Mushrraf is getting more and more paranoid by the day?
Musharraf hits out at retired generals
By James Blitz, Gideon Rachman and Martin Dickson in Davos
Published: January 24 2008 05:58 | Last updated: January 24 2008 05:58
Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan on Wednesday night angrily hit out at the retired generals who this week said that they no longer had confidence in him, remarks that fueled western speculation that the president is losing the support of the army.
“They are insignificant personalities,” the president told the Financial Times in an interview on his arrival at the Davos World Economic Forum. “Most of them are ones who served under me and I kicked them out … They are insignificant. I am not even bothered by them.”
However, Mr Musharraf acknowledged that opinion polls had shown a significant decline in public support for him. But he was confident he could ride out the current political turmoil in the country, insisting he was prepared to work with any prime minister who comes to office after next month’s general election.
“I know that my popularity has reduced,” the president said.
But recent opinion polls showing that an overwhelming majority of the Pakistani public want him to leave office were “incorrect”, he said.
Asked if he could serve a full term as president, Mr Musharraf said: “Yes why not … If the people of Pakistan do not want me, well certainly that is what politics is, that is what democracy is about.”
However, he insisted that, under the Pakistani constitution, he could only be thrown out by a two-thirds majority of the country’s parliament.
Mr Musharraf insisted once again that Pakistan would have elections that were “free, fair and peaceful” on February 18. He said he would be prepared to work with a prime minister who came from the Pakistan People’s party, whose leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated last month, or Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.
“I have no choice. According to the constitution, the president has certain powers, [but] the government is run by the prime minister of Pakistan,” he said.
At the same time, Mr Musharraf made clear that if the opposition won power, they would be unable to proceed with the argument that the president should be impeached because he held power unconstitutionally.
“I don’t care whether they like or not. I follow the constitution of Pakistan and I was elected according to the constitution of Pakistan. Anybody who says it was not done constitutionally is absolutely wrong.”
In the interview, the president rejected suggestions from western analysts that the Pakistani intelligence services were losing a grip on al-Qaeda supporting militants.
“The intelligence services are doing a good job,” he said, adding that the recent spate of suicide bombings were “an irritant”.
Asked if the wave of militancy could break up Pakistan, he said: “I would give zero per cent chance to that. But is it causing anxiety, yes indeed.”
He added: “There is a misperception in the media [that] everything is happening in Pakistan. The actual victory or defeat [of the militants] will be in Afghanistan.”