Slipping out of Pakistan, Musharraf leaves his generals to keep the calm

By GREG MYRE
Associated Press Writer

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – With violent protests at a minimum and key opposition clerics in detention, President Pervez Musharraf is confident enough to take his first foreign trip since Sept. 11, leaving his military government to deal with any threats at home.

In visits to Paris, London and New York, Musharraf was making the case for a "short and more targeted" war in Afghanistan and urging a break in the U.S.-led bombing campaign when the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in about 10 days.

By backing the U.S.-led military campaign, Gen. Musharraf has won favor with the West for the first time since seizing power in a 1999 coup. But he has faced ongoing demonstrations by Islamic groups sympathetic to the ruling Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.

A nationwide day of protest is set for Friday, but the size and intensity of the demonstrations has waned and there have been no violent outbursts in the past several weeks.

"The government won't tolerate violence or disruption of normal public life," Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider, a retired general, said Wednesday evening on Pakistan TV.

While Musharraf's position appears strong, he slipped out of Islamabad like a man on an undercover mission.

His plane left just after dawn Wednesday, hours before it was expected to take off. Shortly before he departed, the country's mobile phone system was mysteriously cut in another apparent security move.

The general then made brief, unannounced stops in Iran and Turkey en route to Paris, his advertised destination.

Most analysts believe there's broad consensus that Musharraf is in firm control.

"His position is comfortable," political analyst Kaiser Bengali said.

He predicted no general would attempt a coup at a time when Musharraf enjoys the backing of the international community, particularly the United States. Washington imposed economic sanctions on Pakistan because of its nuclear weapons tests.

"If I were a general, I would never attempt a coup now," Bengali said.

The government has tolerated opposition rallies, but warned religious leaders not to make provocative statements calling for the ouster of the government. Dozens of those who refused to comply have been placed under house arrest or travel restrictions.

Qazi Hussein Ahmed, leader of Pakistan's largest religious party, Jamaat-e-Islami, was ordered confined to his home, but continued to address rallies by telephone.

To keep Ahmed from speaking out, Pakistan authorities moved him Tuesday to a government guest house 30 miles south of the western city of Peshawar. The Tanda Dam guest house, normally reserved for visiting dignitaries and officials, is not only comfortable but also allows the government to keep a close watch on Ahmed – and keep him off the phone.

Such moves have brought Western criticism in more normal times, but the United States and other governments have only praise for Musharraf these days.

While Musharraf is away, Irshad Hassan Khan, chief justice of the Supreme Court, serves as acting president.

But in Pakistan, the real power rests with the army, and Gen. Mohammed Yusuf, his trusted vice chief of army staff, is in charge of the military.

Musharraf, the army chief, appointed Yusuf to the post a month ago as part of an army reshuffle that sidelined top officers viewed as Islamic ideologues.

For Musharraf, the trip is an opportunity to solidify his transformation from a military ruler largely shunned by the West to an indispensable ally in the war in Afghanistan.

Just last year, U.S.-Pakistan relations were so frosty that former President Clinton refused to allow pictures or TV footage showing him meeting Musharraf during a brief stopover in Pakistan.

But now, Musharraf can expect the royal treatment. He has already won the lifting of U.S. economic sanctions and pledges of debt relief as part of a series of measures aimed at propping up Pakistan's sluggish economy.

He'll be looking for additional political and economic support from both the Americans and the Europeans, specifically grants, loans, debt relief and import concessions.

During their meeting at the U.N. General Assembly debate in New York this weekend, Musharraf will also be pressing President Bush to ease up or halt the bombing during Ramadan, though Bush is not expected to take the advice.

"One would certainly wish that the operation would not go on in Ramadan," Musharraf said in Istanbul, Turkey. "It will have definite negative effects around the Islamic world."

Musharraf has traveled regularly without incident since taking power in an October 1999 coup that ousted the elected civilian government. But the world wasn't paying much attention when he was off on jaunts to the likes of North Korea, Libya, Myanmar and Cuba.

Musharraf has won wide praise among the elite in Pakistan who control politics, business, the military and the media.

But in private, Musharraf has told friends that he had little choice but to side with the United States and abandon the Taliban after the terror attacks. The Bush administration had made clear that countries could not remain neutral in the war on terrorism.

He has recounted a story of a man who came across a lion in the jungle, but managed to survive the encounter and return home safely. When friends praised him for his bravery, the man responded that he did nothing at all – it was the lion that decided for him by choosing not to attack.

AP-WS-11-07-01 1614EST