By Afzal Khan (Our correspondent)
ISLAMABAD — Speculation about President Pervez Musharraf being under immense pressure to step down has failed to fade despite denials and clarifications from concerned quarters.
Political observers citing sources close to the government and the army said Musharraf’s exit was inevitable. “It is no more a question of if but when and in what way,” said an influential source.
Officials confirmed that Senate chairman Mohammad Mian Soomro has been requested to return but said he had to fly to London for medical treatment. He would be back any time. The chairman is constitutionally designated to take over as acting president if the presidential office falls vacant for any reason.
These sources also confirmed that a special wide-bodied airbus A-310 plane that had landed at the Chaklala air base here on Thursday remains parked there. Media reports said it is ready to carry “special passengers”.
President Musharraf denied during a speech at a dinner he hosted for former Punjab governor Khalid Maqbool that he was stepping down. He described these reports as rumours designed to harm the country. But observers noted that he did not repeat the usual refrain that he is a constitutionally-elected president and would complete his five-year term. His spokesman Maj-Gen. Rashid Qureshi also spoke in the same vein to various TV channels and blamed a section of the media for launching an anti-Musharraf campaign.
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