BF2S Forums Guess who else is on the way out.

Two politicians close to Mr. Musharraf have said in the past week that the president was well aware of the drift in the country against him and they suggested that he would not remain in office if the new government was in direct opposition to him. “He does not have the fire in the belly for another fight,” said one member of his party. He added that Mr. Musharraf was building a house for himself in Islamabad and would be ready soon to move.

Sharif has even said he’s considered naming as president rogue nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan, seen as a hero in Pakistan for developing a nuclear bomb and in Washington as a villain for selling nuclear secrets to North Korea and other countries. Monday’s contest — which Musharraf had called “the mother of all elections” — is supposed to nudge Pakistan toward full-fledged democracy, nearly nine years after former army chief Musharraf took power.