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Is the friendly neighbourhood General quaking in his boots? It?s not everyday that he receives a diktat to ?resign by July 31 or else...?

Is the friendly neighbourhood General quaking in his boots? It’s not everyday that he receives a diktat to “resign by July 31 or else...” — issued in Pakistan’s national interest by the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy, which is led by Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif a continent away in London. The Pakistan government must be the only establishment to receive the highest volume of unsolicited advice by, as Ayaz Amir puts it, ‘‘overseas guardians of its national interest”. That need not necessarily mean the US. While the latter may be ‘disturbed’ about the General’s shifting priorities (really?), how uncomfortable can the re-emergence of Pakistan’s political leaders-in-exile be for the General?

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The fact that both Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif are themselves uncertain what the ‘or else’ may mean — contemplating either a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and/or impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf — should not dilute the ‘gravity’ of the threat. This is a good time for both exiled leaders to dig out a foothold, however tenuous, back home in Islamabad. General Musharraf is at his most vulnerable in the run-up to the elections. How he will manage to serve himself another presidential term is anybody’s guess — what with a frowning US on one hand, and his own ‘regime’ that is scornful of the US ‘collar’ that he wears. So as the General plots and plans his future, Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif are confident that a denial of their proposed return to Pakistan before the elections, will spur a people’s movement. Why aren’t we convinced?