Uncertainty may continue to haunt Pakistan

General Musharraf may now be Mr Musharraf, and may have also announced his decision to lift emergency rule on December 16 and hold "free and transparent" elections on January 8, 2008. But Pakistan continues to be a nation in turmoil.

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has said her Pakistan People's Party will take part in the elections "under protest". But a source close to another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who heads a 33-member opposition alliance, said his group will try to get Bhutto's support to boycott the polls unless Musharraf reinstates the Supreme Court chief justice and other judges he sacked after declaring the emergency on November 3.

This has also been the demand of the legal community, which has spearheaded the protests in Pakistan. Indeed, viewers have been inundated by images of the men in black braving police assaults to make their voices heard. But it is difficult to imagine Musharraf agreeing to their demands.

Besides, Washington and London seem to be pleased with Musharraf's latest announcement. Reinstatement of the judiciary was, in fact, never a key demand of the West, with US President George W. Bush pushing Musharraf only on removing his uniform and lifting emergency rule.

An electoral boycott by the two heavyweights of Pakistani politics will hit Musharraf hard. Perhaps realising this, he appealed directly to them to take part in the polls. But, true to form, he also added that the elections will go ahead "come hell or high water".

As Musharraf prepares to share power with a democratically elected leader, he will still retain the power to dismiss the government. But his ability to do so will depend on how popular the prime minister is. The fact that he is now a civilian head of state doesn't mean his problems have ended. He must still reckon with a growing insurgency in the border areas and an alienated civil society.