The Sunday Telegraph quotes an unnamed “close confidante” of Pervez Musharraf as saying that Musharraf’s resignation could (not definitely, as its headline states) be imminent:

“He has already started discussing the exit strategy for himself…I think it is now just a matter of days and not months because he would like to make a graceful exit on a high.”

I would take this quote with a grain of salt. While its outlook is highly plausible, the statement could be designed to create fear among Western diplomats, who have been actively ‘lobbying’ Asif Zardari, and to a lesser extent Nawaz Sharif, to keep Musharraf on board. Amin Fahim, the People’s Party’s selected prime ministerial candidate, has told CNN of his party’s aversion to “rock the boat at this time” and said that he thinks “there’s no need at the moment” to impeach Musharraf. The pressure on Musharraf is not full-fledged.

A non-violent exit for Musharraf? Most likely. Graceful? Yes, if you think Nixon’s resignation was. On a high? No way. Musharraf needs to ask himself: Why after almost eight and a half years in power has he reversed roles with Mr. 10 Percent and Amir ul Mumineen (now Amir ul Wukalaa)? Why is it that he could very well be subletting Nawaz’s villa in Jeddah, while Sher Sahib has returned with both hairline and legitimacy restored?

The same official above also tells the Telegraph:

“[Musharraf] may have made many mistakes, but he genuinely tried to build the country and he doesn’t want to destroy it just for the sake of his personal office.”

Musharraf failed to recognize the necessity of constitutional constraints, political competition, and a free and active public discourse in curbing the weaknesses inherent in all political actors. And good intentions can only take one so far. In the end, an executive must be judged by actions–especially when given close to a decade to perform. The freak show that is Pakistan’s constitution, in its present form, will perhaps be Musharraf’s greatest legacy. His amendments and extra-constitutional acts demonstrated his utter failure as a politician and as a ruler who failed to become a leader.

Prior to last year, Musharraf was keen to make his case before the Pakistani people. Though he certainly wasn’t always right, he did lay out his arguments in a straightforward and deliberated fashion in national addresses. But an increasing insularity began. And his last ditch effort–a Friday op-ed in the Washington Post, probably written by an account director at Ogilvy PR–typifies his failure over the past 11 months. Instead of making his case to the people of Pakistan (and also internalizing their feedback), Musharraf was busy making his case to policymakers in Washington.

Saturday’s Guardian quotes an unnamed PML-Q official (Tariq Azim or Mushahid Hussain?) describing Musharraf as worn down and isolated:

“He’s been sulking…He’s retreated into a mental bunker, which is not healthy. He thinks everyone is out to get him and only listens to a small circle. It’s a dangerous mindset to be in at this point in time. He could decide to hit back.”

PEMRA’s actions against Aaj Television suggest Musharraf could have one more fight in him. But it remains difficult to see him being allowed to punch below the belt. Without that advantage, Musharraf might decide it’s not even worth taking a swing.

UPDATE – Sunday 02:48PM New York/Monday 12:48AM Islamabad: Pervez Musharraf’s spokesman Rashid Qureshi denied suggestions in the Telegraph article that the president was considering an imminent resignation.   He said, “Frankly if President wants to talk about such matters, he will have to talk to the people of Pakistan…I discard the authenticity of [the] news story as the newspaper does not identify its source. It seems that someone is planting such rumors.”