Musharraf is apparently now agreeing to elections on the original date, i.e., mid-January. This is obviously the result of pressure from the West, especially the US. They are extremely frustrated that, having agreed to the previous farce of "transition to democracy" under which elections would be held and Benazir would be essentially anointed prime minister, they have been betrayed and Musharraf has reneged on the deal. My guess is that the West hopes that the same setup can still be installed - Musharraf as "civilian" president and Benazir as PM providing the veneer of popular legitimacy to the whole sick farce. Of course, things have changed since the entire setup was arranged, and I'm not sure all will go as the West wants. Meanwhile, of course, the "war on terror" becomes less and less likely to succeed. And the civil wars that are raging in Pakistan won't go away, Benazir or not.
Interestingly, Mush's latest announcement goes against his earlier defense of delayed elections. Ostensibly, elections had been delayed because the various assembly sessions were ending on different dates, and the Supreme Court too had been "dragging its feet" in giving a decision. Now that Mush is planning for January elections, the earlier problems have mysteriously gone away.
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