Rumours

The Rumour in the Karachi Stock Exchange is that a curfew has been imposed in Islamabad and that Musharaf has been forced out by the army High Command.

Don't know if its just a wild rumour (though it has led to a stock market crash in the last few minutes) or if there is any truth behind it. Guess we will soon find out.

Edit: Well the army has issued a statement saying that the rumours of a counter-coup were just that - a rumour and that no such thing has happened. The need for a statement was necessary because the stock market had gone into free fall.

Still, I get the feeling that Mushie's days are numbered. The army High Command forced Ayub Khan out in 69 and got rid of Yahya Khan after the 1971 war. Zia ul Haq's assassination, whatever its motive force was, certainly needed the active complicity of highly placed men in the armed forces. (As one retired general said on a TV discussion recently, the High Command breathed a sigh of relief at Zia's death). Unless Musharaf can turn things around fairly quickly in Pakistan, (and I don't see how he can), the army may well show him the door.