Former Pakistan President Musharraf resigns

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf resigned Monday, citing a desire to avoid putting his country through a destabilizing impeachment process. "Whether I win or lose the impeachment," he said, "the nation will lose." After speaking for more than an hour and excoriating his rivals' economic management, he raised his fists and said, "Long Live Pakistan!"

Musharraf's ouster is a major victory for Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister who leads the junior partner in the ruling coalition and has been calling loudly for Musharraf to leave for months. But Asif Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto, is said to covet the presidency. Musharraf's exit could lead to ugly infighting between Zardari and Sharif, but investors seem happy: the Pakistani stock market rose 4.5 percent on the news.

Looking back at Musharraf's nine-year tenure, the AP's Matthew Pennington comments, "His demise was as tortured as his arrival was swift."


Musharraf says some people were putting self interest in front of the country and this has forced him to resign. His resignation will go to the speaker of the National Assembly today.
The BBC reported:

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, facing impeachment by parliament, has announced that he is resigning.

In a national televised address he said he was confident the charges against him would not stand, but this was not the time for more confrontation.

The charges against the president include violation of the constitution and gross misconduct.

He has been one of the United States' strongest allies in its war against Islamist extremism.

His political rivals swept to power last February in national and provincial elections after months of political confrontation and worsening militant violence.
Reuters announced that no unrest was expected as a result of the increasingly unpopular leader's resignation... We will see.

US democrats will likely rejoice in this news from nuclear armed Pakistan. They have publically ridiculed the strong US ally for years.

Downing Street praised Musharraf and urged Pakistan to promote strong democratic institutions.






(CNN) -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced his resignation Monday after weeks of pressure to relinquish power.

Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf has until now stubbornly resisted pressure to quit.

Musharraf told the nation in a televised address that he would step down -- nearly nine years after he seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999.

"I don't want the people of Pakistan to slide deeper and deeper into uncertainty," Musharraf said.

"For the interest of the nation, I have decided to resign as president," he said. "I am not asking for anything. I will let the people of Pakistan decide my future." Watch Musharraf resign »

He was expected to turn in his resignation to parliament Monday. Musharraf quit as the ruling coalition was taking steps to impeach him.

Local media reports said he had been granted "safe passage" out of the country.

Musharraf has been a keen ally of the West in the fight on terror, receiving billions in military aid from the U.S. and launching attacks on militant groups near the country's border with Afghanistan. Watch more on Musharraf's departure »

In a statement released by U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe, President George W. Bush said it was committed to a "strong Pakistan that continues its efforts to strengthen democracy and fight terror."

"President Bush appreciates President Musharraf's efforts in the democratic transition of Pakistan as well as his commitment to fighting Al Qaeda and extremist groups," the statement said.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said he had been a "friend to the United States" and one of the "most committed partners in the war against terrorism and extremism."
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British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it was strongly committed to its alliance with Pakistan following Musharraf's resignation.

He praised Musharraf's economic and security achievements, described Pakistan as a "vital friend" and said Britain's aid program for the country would continue, The Associated Press reported.

Until now, Musharraf, 65, had resisted pressure to resign. But his power had eroded since parties opposed to his rule swept to victory in February's parliamentary elections.

Musharraf spent a large part of his speech delivering a state-of-the-union style list of Pakistan's "accomplishments" under his rule. He contrasted it with what he called the deteriorating economic situation now.

"After the elections, the nation wanted solutions from the new government," he said. "But the politicians could not do so. A personal vendetta was started." View a timeline of Musharraf's time in power »

A coalition committee spent last week compiling a list of charges against Musharraf including corruption, economic mismanagement and violating the constitution. Parliament was expected to consider an impeachment motion Monday or Tuesday.

"I am confident that not a single charge can stand against me," Musharraf said. "I have not done anything for my personal gain. Whatever I have done, I have done it for Pakistan."

Faisal Kapadia, a commodities trader in Karachi who runs a blog about Pakistan called Deadpan Thoughts, said Musharraf's decision would get a mixed reaction.

"Leading Pakistan is not an easy task, and anyone doing it comes under a lot of criticism," he said.

"In the start, most Pakistanis were for him. And he still has some supporters -- especially because the new government, which promised to do things differently, has failed to do much in the past 100 days in power."

Musharraf grabbed power in 1999. He was serving as military chief when then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif dismissed him, setting off a confrontation.

As Musharraf was returning from an overseas visit in October 1999, Sharif refused to allow the commercial airliner with 200 passengers on board to land.

Within hours the army had deposed Sharif in a bloodless coup, and the plane was allowed to touch down with only 10 minutes of fuel left.

Musharraf was welcomed by a nation on the brink of economic ruin.

"I think at this point, his intentions were good," said Lt. Gen. Talat Masood, a political analyst. "He wanted to serve the country and to be different."

During his rule, Pakistan attained respectable growth rates and established a generally favorable investment climate.

Along with that came a growing middle class, a more aggressive media, and a more assertive judiciary.

"He brought parliamentary reforms. He brought women into the parliament," said Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, director of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency.

But, analysts say, Musharraf never lost his military mindset.

"He in a way, always believed in a unity of command, a very centralized command, which means his command, in fact," said Masood.

After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, Musharraf found himself on the frontline of the 'war on terror.'

Pakistan had long supported the Taliban as they battled for control of Afghanistan in 1990s, in the aftermath of the Soviet pull out.

But after the 2001 attacks, Musharraf aligned himself with the U.S. to help rout the fundamentalist Islamic movement.

Washington gave Musharraf billions in aid as he vowed to deprive the militants of the sanctuary they had established along the country's border with Afghanistan.

However, Musharraf's popularity began to plummet last year following the March suspension of Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.

The move triggered protests and accusations that he was trying to influence the court's ruling on whether he could run for another five-year term.

Chaudhry was reinstated but the damage was done.

In October, Musharraf was re-elected president by a parliament critics said was stacked with his supporters. Opposition parties filed a challenge.

The next month, he declared a state of emergency, suspended Pakistan's constitution, replaced the chief judge again and blacked out independent TV outlets.

Under pressure from the West, he later lifted the emergency and promised elections in January. Watch a PPP leader discuss opposition to Musharraf »

He allowed Sharif, the prime minister he deposed, to return from exile. He also let in another political foe, Benazir Bhutto. She, too, had been a prime minister, and led the Pakistan People's Party.

However, in December, the country was plunged into further turmoil when Bhutto was killed at a rally in Rawalpindi.


Musharraf's government and the CIA contend the killing was orchestrated by Baitullah Mehsud, a leader of the Pakistani Taliban with ties to al Qaeda. But polls found that a majority of Pakistanis believe Musharraf's government was complicit.
Meanwhile, several other factors compounded Musharraf's declining popularity: a shortage of essential food items, power cuts, and a skyrocketing inflation.