Progress? Or Kabuki?

Hey, speaking of Pakistan, there was some news from there this morning.

The 'emergency rule' stays in place through the January elections-- which may or may occur-- and protestors and activists are still being rounded up by the Musharraf regime, but a concession was quietly made today. The AP reports that-

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Wednesday he expects to step down as army chief by the end of November and begin a new presidential term as a civilian, warning that Pakistan risked chaos if he gave into opposition demands to resign...

....The U.S.-backed general had originally planned to quit as chief of the powerful army by Thursday, when his presidential mandate and the term of the current parliament expire, but he said he was forced to delay the restoration of civilian rule until a court ruling on his recent re-election.

He said the timing would depend on the Supreme Court — which he purged of independent-minded judges when he suspended the constitution Nov. 3 — but expected it to happen this month.

Of course, unless real democratic change follows this move (and as you can see, it's merely tentative), then it is kabuki. Musharraf can officially step down as military chief in theory, while remaining the real military dictator of the country in practice. There's no sign yet that Musharraf is serious about restoring constitutional rule in his country, or about stopping extremists. "The only terror that Musharraf's regime seems able to confront is the terror of his own illegitimacy," opposition leader Benazir Bhutto (herself no prize) said.

Finally, the NY Times' Frank Rich has a column comparing the struggle in Pakistan with the subtler one here at home.