‘US can do without Musharraf’s help’

Comparing Musharraf with Egypts’ former ruler Anwar Sadat, the official said after his assasination Hosni Mubarak succesfully took over the reins of Cairo. ‘‘It doesn’t all rest on this individual.’’

‘‘He abandoned Afghanistan, claiming it was necessary to save other Pakistani interests, including Kashmir,’’ said Farhan Bokhari, a member of the radical Islamic group, Hizb Ul-Tehrir. ‘‘Now he is abandoning Kashmir.’’

The old soldier, says the weekly, is beginning to show the strain. Musharraf still exercises every evening, briskly striding around the tightly-guarded army house compound. But he is suffering from a bum shoulder and can barely lift his arm. ‘‘See?’’ he says, failing to get it fully over his head. ‘‘That is as far as it goes.’’

Asked what kind of a leader he is, Musharraf answers immediately: ‘‘loved. A leader is no leader if he is not loved.’’ He continues: ‘‘They must follow you because they love you, because they think you are the greatest.’’

Time commented: ‘‘they followed him when Musharraf took his troops into battle along the LoC and in the 1971 war. But in his current fight for political survival, Musharraf runs the risk of heading into battle alone.’’