Boeman Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 (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 ยป 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. He was expected to turn in his resignation to parliament Monday. "It will be accepted, there is no second opinion about that," said Iqbal Zaffar Jhagra, the secretary general of the junior partner in the ruling coalition, the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N). 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. 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." A coalition committee spent last week compiling a list of charges against Musharraf including corruption, economic mismanagement and violating the constitution. Pakistan's four provincial assemblies called on the president to give up power. 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 supported the Taliban during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. 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. He cast himself as indispensable -- to the West and to Pakistan, analysts said. To Pakistanis he sold himself as the man who could deliver peace with India, a country with which Pakistan has fought three wars. To the West, he was the man to safeguard the country's nuclear arsenal. 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 Supreme Court's ruling on whether he could run for another five-year term. Chaudhry was reinstated but the damage was done. "Undoubtedly, that was the catalyst," Masood said. "This is where he went wrong, and he underestimated the value of democracy." Four months later, in July 2007, Pakistani security forces seized the Red Mosque in the capital city Islamabad. The raid, intended to rout Islamic extremists who hoped to establish a Taliban-style rule in the capital, killed more than 100 people. A raft of suicide bombings followed. 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. 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 nationwide polls found that a majority of Pakistanis believe Musharraf's government was complicit in the assassination. Meanwhile, several other factors compounded Musharraf's declining popularity: a shortage of essential food items, power cuts, and a skyrocketing inflation. This is something that the US government had already been bracing itself for. The question is, will those who will be assuming power being more amiable to the Americans or will they be more sympathetic to the Taliban? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
costard Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Man, the no politics is a hard one to avoid. Let us assume there is a free and fair election in Pakistan - hohoho The Pakistanis live just down the road from the Talibani - they've had plenty of opportunity to see the progress made by a state run by the Taliban. There are plenty more educated (able to read) people in Pakistan, more people with a direct stake in the country's liquid assets - as the article points out with its reference to a growing middle class. That middle class has also proved to itself that its systems of law actually can work. Given the choice, I'd expect the majority of the Pakistani populace to deny their government the mandate of allying with the Taliban. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbott Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 This ought to be interesting. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwolf Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 TV will be getting more interesting, no doubt. Can we send whoever loses in November? Should be great motivation to please American voters, no? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbott Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 I meant the situation in Pakistan will be interesting. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 This is something that the US government had already been bracing itself for. The question is, will those who will be assuming power being more amiable to the Americans or will they be more sympathetic to the Taliban? I think the real question is, will the new guys be able to govern successfully, or will the army be stepping in again in a few years. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Affentitten Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Let's hope for America's sake that they don't get to hold free and fair elections. Then someone unsympathetic to American democracy might get elected. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbott Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Then someone unsympathetic to American democracy might get elected. Yeah, that could be a problem however if it does happen maybe it will somehow open the door for a shot at Bin Laden. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwolf Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 They will either get a real military dictatorship (back) or this turns right into post-Soviet Afghanistan. The U.S. will probably go back to 80ties style military dictatorship support, in lack of a better option. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Affentitten Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 It depends on how much the ISI could be purged. Somehow I doubt that will be in the offing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Here's a decidedly different take on the man: who he was, what he did, how he did it. Will give you quite an education on this "marvelous" person. ISI and SWA buffs will be especially interested. http://www.acsa.net/pakistan.htm Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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