The general was joking

By Khalid Hasan

NEW YORK: President Pervez Musharraf was joking when he said in Boston in answer to a question that he would soon be stepping down as Chief of Army Staff.

Reports in the press have suggested that the president was serious, when it turns out he wasn’t. He was asked when he would appoint a new COAS to which he said he would appoint one when he would appoint one. He then added with a wry smile that “that will not be very far off.” An Information Ministry official told Daily Times on Wednesday that there was no truth in a report appearing in some newspapers that Nisar Memon, minister for information, had “confirmed” that Gen Musharraf would be stepping down as COAS. “The minister said no such thing. It is entirely baseless,” the official added.

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