Musharraf canceled Afghan trip for gathering storm at home

Times:

The political crisis in Pakistan deepened last night as President Musharraf was poised to impose a state of emergency, a move that would grant him sweeping powers.

First indications of the clampdown came when General Musharraf cancelled a visit to Kabul, where he was due to address a joint jirga (council) of Pakistani and Afghan tribal elders. Officials denied reports that the President had decided to declare a state of emergency, but other sources said that an announcement was imminent.

General Musharraf has convened a meeting today of Cabinet ministers, the Attorney-General and leaders of the ruling party to finalise his plans.

“These are only unconfirmed reports, although the possibility of imposing emergency cannot be ruled out and has recently been discussed, keeping in mind some external and internal threats and the law-and-order situation,” Tariq Azim Khan, the Deputy Information Minister, said.

Emergency rule would allow General Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999, to extend the tenure of the national and provincial assemblies by 12 months and to delay elections that are due at the end of the year.

The Government could explain such a step by citing a recent spate of suicide attacks across the country and the growing security threat posed by Islamist militants allied to the Taleban and al-Qaeda.

The reports of impending emergency rule emerged a day after General Musharraf declared that he would seek election by the current parliament for another five-year term before October 15. He also made his intention clear that he would not step down as army chief, as demanded by the Opposition. The emergency measure, expected to be announced today, would lead to the suspension of fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution and curtail the powers of the Supreme Court.

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I suspect that he would deem losing power as cause for an emergency. He is facing pressure from several directions and Barak Obama did him no favors with his threats last week. It has been clear for several weeks that al Qaeda is actively trying to overthrow him and the Red Mosque kerfuffle was intended to instigate that. His counter of sending troops to the tribal areas maybe too little too late, but the Bush administration continues to support him and Karzai seemed understanding of his reasons for not attending the meeting in Kabul.

Westhawk is more pessimistic about Musharraf's not attending the event in Kabul. He probably had higher expectations for it than I did.

I note that on Thursday Musharraf said he would not be proclaiming an emergency.