Tokyo: The "real threat" to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's hold on power comes from within his constituency—the military.
"Men who live by the gun are willing to die by the gun, and Musharraf is not taking chances. He knows that the real threat to his power and his life comes from within his constituency, the military," Pervez Hoodbhoy, a teacher at Islamabad's Quaid-e-Azam University was quoted by PTI.
"As a result, he has become obsessed with micromanaging everything from troop movements and special events to postings and promotions, all of which require his personal stamp of approval," he writes in an opinion piece in The Japan Times.
While pro and anti-US divisions within the army have deepened among both commissioned and non-commissioned officers, Musharraf expects to remain president well beyond October 2007 elections. He also wants to extend further his term of leadership of the army, says the news daily.
"To achieve this end, whatever needs to be done will be done; principles and rules are elastic," Pervez Hoodbhoy writes adding that the US remains "clueless" on how to deal with Pakistan and its problems.
"One might have expected the Americans to know better than to bet all on a man who might be gone tomorrow. But, beyond pumping in dollars and supporting Musharraf and his military, the US appears clueless in dealing with Pakistan and its problems of social development," he reveals.
With excerpts from PTI
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