President Musharraf has officially stepped down as chief of staff of Pakistan's army. Tomorrow he will be sworn in as the president of Pakistan. According to Pakistan's attorney general, Musharraf may drop the Provisional Constitution Order in the next several days. Pakistan's Daily Times reports:
The AG said, "General Musharraf's oath as civilian president on November 29 would be taken under the 1973 Constitution and not under the PCO. He added that the upcoming general elections would also be held under the 1973 Constitution. Under the PCO some Articles relating to fundamental rights and the higher judiciary were suspended while provisions dealing with the presidential office remained intact, he said. He said the government had been considering lifting emergency rule but the recent terrorist acts had delayed the decision.
Musharraf declared the state of emergency at the beginning of November, which allowed him to suspend the 1973 constitution and replace it with the Provisional Constitution Order. Musharraf essentially imposed martial law, and was then able to replace members of the Supreme Court who refused to back his election as president. Musharraf was in violation of the constitution by serving as both president and chief of staff of the armed forces.
Musharraf stated his main reason for suspending the constitution was to fight the growing rise of the Taliban and al Qaeda. But if the 1973 constitution is restored prior to any attempts to clear the Taliban from its strongholds up and down the Northwest Frontier Province and the tribal areas, it is clear Musharraf's real intent was to preserve his own position in the Pakistani political power structure.
