No place to hide

Of the many questions raised by Pervez Musharraf8217;s resignation, one stands out as both the most mundane and the most difficult to answer 8212; where will he live now? One senior Pakistani official said that initially it had been planned to fly the former president and his family to London but those plans had been changed8230;

After nine years in one of the world8217;s most dangerous political jobs, he and his family must soon return to a civilian world teeming with politicians, separatists and Islamists who would like to see him jailed or dead. His own choice would be to stay in a house that he is building on his five-acre farm on the outskirts of Islamabad. But he risks prosecution by his political enemies if he stays in Pakistan8230; He would also be a certain target for the Islamic militants who have already made three attempts on his life. Only last week, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda8217;s number two, denounced Musharraf as 8220;one of the biggest enemies of Islam, if not the biggest8221;.

As president, he was protected by a relatively well-trained army8230; now he is entitled to protection only by the police, whose shortcomings were exposed by Benazir Bhutto8217;s assassination last year. If the government does not grant him military protection, as well as immunity from prosecution, he will probably be forced overseas8230; an alternative to London might be Turkey8230; Musharraf spent some of his childhood in Turkey and speaks Turkish, but diplomats say Ankara is also reluctant to take on the security risk. Another suggestion is the United States, where his son, Bilal, works. However, Condoleezza Rice said an asylum offer was 8220;not on the table8221;.

That leaves only Saudi Arabia8230; It is hardly a perfect exile, given Musharraf8217;s taste for whisky and socialising with the opposite sex, but it may be his only option.

Excerpted from an article in 8216;The Times8217;