The New York Times-20080124-Ex-Officers Call on Musharraf to Step Down Before Elections
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Ex-Officers Call on Musharraf to Step Down Before Elections
An influential group of former military officers has called on Pakistan's embattled president to step down, a move that could further undermine him before parliamentary elections next month.
A statement by the group, the Pakistan Ex-Servicemen's Society, blamed the president, Pervez Musharraf, for the current crisis and said Mr. Musharraf, the former army commander, no longer represents the unity and the symbol of the federation as president.
This is in the supreme national interest and it makes it incumbent on him to step down, said the statement, which was signed by more than 100 former generals, admirals, air marshals and other retired officers and enlisted men. It was issued after a meeting on Tuesday of the association's leaders in Islamabad.
Mr. Musharraf was commander of the army until stepping down in November.
The society normally limits itself to dealing with pensions and other issues relating to retired military personnel and does not speak for serving officers. Its tough stance is an embarrassment to Mr. Musharraf, who has been traveling in Europe seeking support for his government.
The feeling was unanimous and strong that Musharraf is the problem and that he is a source of divisiveness, said Talat Masood, a retired general who is now a prominent political analyst, and an impediment to democracy.
He is bringing down the reputation of the army, and undermining its support among the people which it needs in the war on terror, said General Masood, who attended the meeting. He has brought disgrace on all ranks.
In November, Mr. Musharraf purged the Supreme Court just as it was poised to declare his recent re-election illegal and he briefly suspended the Constitution.
Mr. Musharraf, a top ally of the United States in his efforts to curb terrorism, led a military coup to power in 1999 but retired from the army in November to be inaugurated for a five-year term as civilian president.
Despite his imposition of a state of emergency and the arrests of thousands of opposition party activists, lawyers and judges, the United States has continued to say Mr. Musharraf is committed to restoring democracy through elections.
During his European tour, Mr. Musharraf has sought to reassure Western leaders about his ability to restore democracy and prevail in the growing combat between government troops and pro-Taliban rebels along Pakistan's mountainous border with Afghanistan.
Mr. Musharraf met Wednesday in Switzerland with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the highest-level, face-to-face American contact with him since the assassination last month of the opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.
Hasan-Askari Rizvi, a political analyst at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, said the timing of the former officers' statement highlighted the erosion of Mr. Musharraf's support.
It's difficult to say that this is a reflection of feelings within the active military, he said, although this statement will be read with a lot of interest among the serving people who cannot express their opinion due to service discipline.
