In an interview to the press, President Musharaf has hit back by saying that "I will not step down". This reminds one of the last interview by General Yahya Khan just before the fall of Dhaka. He looked confident as ever and had assured the nation that everything is in control under his able Presidency. But his fall from grace came immediately thereafter. As a rule, the candle flame burns the brightest just before getting extinguished. -DR IRFAN ZAFAR, Islamabad, via e-mail, June 17.