Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf might quit if people vote for political parties opposed to him in the February 18 general election, a key member of the presidential camp has said.
"Obviously, he (Musharraf) is not as strong as he was before," the unnamed source told The News daily.
After Musharraf doffed his military uniform in November, he had become a "simple president", the source said.
The presidential aide "conceded" that Musharraf might quit if the people vote for parties opposed to him, the daily said.
If "anti-Musharraf forces" come to power after the polls to the national and four provincial assemblies, the president would make "critical decisions", the source was quoted as saying.
Asked if Musharraf had devised any immediate "exit strategy" that might include a decision to step down before the polls, the aide said, "No, not at all."
The source also said the elections would be fair, free and independent and there would be no rigging as is being alleged by major opposition parties.
"I can assure you that the elections would be the fairest in the history of Pakistan," the aide claimed.
Demands for Musharraf's resignation have been made by opposition parties and different segments of society, including the legal fraternity and even the influential Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society, which has twice asked the president to quit to usher in true democracy.
The presidential camp has shown no flexibility on the demand for reinstating the judges who were deposed during last year's emergency rule, but the aide said only a government which had a two-thirds majority in Parliament could undo the actions taken during the emergency.
