More Musharraf: The Embattled Pakistani President Will Stay in Power (World IN REVIEW‪)‬

In the immediate aftermath of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's trouncing in the February 2008 parliamentary elections, pundits began speculating that his reign was over. A Reuters article published shortly after the rout was headlined "Pakistan's Musharraf could face end, analysts say." But the resilient Musharraf kept a low profile in the subsequent months, and recent developments have revised Musharaff's chances for continued rule. Structural government reforms that Musharraf instituted, along with internal divisions within pro-democracy coalitions, have stalled his fall from grace. Indeed, barring sudden political cohesion between all elements of the opposition or the immediate reinstatement of anti-Musharraf Supreme Court Justices, all political and structural factors point to Musharraf's prolonged rule, despite the popular antipathy towards him. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]