Musharraf Says He'd Consider Stepping Down

'On the day people don't want me, I will leave,' he tells Der Spiegel
By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 13, 2008 2:52 PM CST
Musharraf Says He'd Consider Stepping Down
In this handout photo released by Pakistan Press Information Department, President Pervez Musharraf speaks during a news conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008. Musharraf denied accusations that the military or intelligence services were involved in the killing of opposition leader...   (Associated Press)

Pervez Musharraf will consider resigning if his public approval continues to erode, Der Spiegel reports in a wide-ranging interview to be published tomorrow. "On the day I think the people, the majority, don't want me anymore and the day I have no contribution to make to this country, I will leave," he said, as he preps for elections next month.

The Pakistani leader called Bush a "friend," but said he would not allow US military actions there. And he still partially blames Benazir Bhutto for her death, saying "She was warned, but she decided differently." Musharraf says Bhutto was courting death when she "stretched herself out of the car," and still opposes a UN investigation into her assassination. (More Pervez Musharraf stories.)

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