Going, Going, Gone......................................

..............................

Pakistan's Musharraf

announces resignation

..............................................................................

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf quit office on Monday to avoid impeachment charges, nearly nine years after the key U.S. ally in its campaign against terrorism took power in a coup.

Speculation the former army chief would resign had mounted since the fractious coalition government, led by the party of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, said this month it planned to impeach him.

"Whether I win or lose, the nation will lose," Musharraf, 65, said of the impeachment process in an hour-long televised address in which he passionately defended his record.
"The honour and dignity of the country will be affected and in my view, the honour of the office of president will also be affected."

Prolonged jockeying and uncertainty over Musharraf's position had hurt financial markets in the nuclear-armed country of 165 million people, and raised concerns in Washington and elsewhere that it was distracting from efforts to tackle militancy.

Coalition officials had said earlier Musharraf had sought immunity from prosecution but he said in his speech he was asking for nothing.

"I don't want anything from anybody. I have no interest. I leave my future in the hands of the nation and people," he said.
One of the main coalition parties, that of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, whom Musharraf ousted in 1999, has been insisting he face trial for treason. Bhutto's party has said parliament should decide.

Musharraf ended his final address as president with the words: "May God protect Pakistan, may God protect you all. Long Live Pakistan forever."
Pakistani stocks jumped 4 percent on the news and the rupee, which had lost a quarter of its value this year, began strengthening.
"It eliminates all the uncertainty in the market," said Asad Iqbal, managing director at Ismail Iqbal Securities.

"The government will hopefully start concentrating on the economy. From an economic point of view, they have no excuses now and they have to perform."
Musharraf has been isolated since his allies lost parliamentary elections in February. But in his speech he defiantly lambasted the coalition for what he described as failed economic policies, and said he had brought prosperity.

The powerful army, which has ruled for more than half the country's 61-year history, has publicly kept out of the controversy over its old boss, and no protests over the Musharraf decision were expected.

Indeed, celebrations broke out across the country after the announcement, with people dancing and handing out sweets.

"Thank God he's resigned. The country will do much better now," said Mohammad Ilyas, 30, in Karachi.

"VICTORY FOR BENAZIR"


The United States, apparently resigned to Musharraf's exit, had said earlier Pakistan's leadership was a Pakistani issue.
Old rival India reacted cautiously, also saying it was an internal Pakistani matter. Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters: "India will continue to have an amicable relation with Pakistan in the days to come".
While the new Pakistani government is committed to a peace process with India, launched under Musharraf in 2004, India's fear is that a weak civilian government will not have the same muscle Musharraf had over the army and the military spy agency, which India suspects has a hand in most attacks on its soil.
It was not clear who the next president would be. According to the constitution, the chairman of the Senate will become acting president until a new one is elected within 30 days.
Traditionally Pakistan's president has been a figurehead, although under Musharraf the office was much more powerful.
Ruling coalition parties, which had prepared impeachment charges against Musharraf focusing on alleged violations of the constitution, welcomed the resignation.
"It's victory for Benazir Bhutto and all those who sacrificed their lives for democracy," said a senior Bhutto party official.
Bhutto was assassinated on December 27 while campaigning. The government said an al Qaeda-linked militant was responsible.
A career army officer, Musharraf became a close U.S. ally in the war against terror and narrowly survived several al Qaeda-inspired assassination attempts.
Critics say Musharraf suffered from a "saviour complex" and believed he was indispensable. He promised to return Pakistan to democracy, but opponents say he stifled political freedom.
A 2002 general election was widely seen as rigged.
As challenges mounted, Musharraf reverted to autocratic ways. His downfall will be traced back to March 9, 2007, when he tried to force Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to resign.