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Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
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Pervez Musharraf resigns as President

Nirupama Subramanian

Says he is not scared of possible impeachment, but he wants to spare the country instability

— PHOTO: AFP

BOWING OUT: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf responds to the gathering during the farewell ceremony in Islamabad on Monday.

ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf on Monday rang down the curtain on his turbulent eight-year rule over Pakistan, announcing his resignation ahead of a threatened impeachment by the ruling coalition.

In a farewell address to the nation, which was characteristically defiant but in many ways dignified too, the retired General Musharraf said he was going not because he was scared of a possible impeachment but because he wanted to spare the country the instability and uncertainty the proceedings would bring.

“This is not the time for individual bravado. This is the time for serious reflection. Whether I win or lose, the nation will lose in every way. It will be a blow to the dignity of the nation and to the office of the President,” he said. “Therefore, after consultations with all my advisers and friends, for the sake of the country, I announce my decision to step down from the office of President.”

Supporters of the Pakistan People’s Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (N) distributed sweets and fired shots in the air to celebrate the announcement. Representatives of civil society offered namaz outside Parliament.

August, the bad month

August will go down as a bad month for Pakistan military rulers. Gen. Musharraf’s exit came one day after the 20th death anniversary of General Zia-ul Haq, who was killed in a plane crash on August 17, 1988.

The former Army chief, who came to power in 1999 and whose downfall began in March 2007 with his move to sack the Chief Justice, seemed collected during his speech, appearing close to tears only towards the end.

Making an impassioned defence of his rule, Gen. Musharraf said, “No charge sheet against me will stand,” referring to the charges that the ruling coalition had finalised to buttress an impeachment motion.

Declaring he had done nothing in his personal interest and everything for Pakistan, a grim-faced Gen. Musharraf said even if the motion was defeated, there would be tensions between the presidency and the government and between institutions.

“God forbid, the Army should not have to interfere. I would never want that,” he said.

“Best revenge”

Interviewed in Karachi by Geo Television, Bilawal Bhutto, son of the late Benazir Bhutto and chairperson of the ruling PPP, said Gen. Musharraf’s departure was “proof that democracy is the best revenge.”

PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari, PML(N) leader Nawaz Sharif and the leaders of the two other parties in the ruling coalition, who went into a post-Musharraf huddle, put out a statement welcoming Gen. Musharraf’s departure as a “triumph for democracy and fall of dictatorship.” They said the jubilation in the country and the recovery of the stock exchange after his resignation were a sign of how badly people wanted him to go.

But it is still unclear whether Gen. Musharraf’s resignation was part of an agreement with the PPP-led government for a “safe exit.” In his speech, the former military ruler left it vague.

“I leave my fate in the hands of the people of Pakistan. I am human, so I may have made mistakes, but my intentions were always honest, and I’m sure the people will excuse me,” he said.

“Should face trial”

Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan, a PML(N) leader, reiterated Mr. Sharif’s demand that Gen. Musharraf face trial.

“He should answer in a court of law for the crimes he has committed against the people of Pakistan. We feel that all that should be brought out in an open public trial,” Mr. Khan said.

According to some reports, the Army may have stepped in to negotiate both indemnity from legal proceedings and also a continued stay in the country for its former chief.

After his farewell speech, Gen. Musharraf left the Aiwan-e-Sadr for his official residence in Rawalpindi, where, it is reported, he may continue to live until his farmhouse on the outskirts of the capital is completed.

Other reports said there was a deal between him and the government, by which he would go into exile in Saudi Arabia.

Internal matter: India

New Delhi Special Correspondent reports:

In New Delhi, the External Affairs Ministry’s official spokesperson, in response to queries, said: “We have no comments to make on the resignation of President Musharraf. This is an internal matter of Pakistan.”

But other official sources recalled that India’s relationship in the recent years with Gen. Musharraf’s regime was “working well.” There were chill and antagonism during his first four years, climaxing in a military standoff on the borders following a suicide attack on the Indian Parliament by militants, allegedly abetted by Pakistani intelligence. Since then both sides had progressed on composite dialogue, ensured a ceasefire on the border and initiated several confidence-building measures. Cross-border infiltration too declined considerably.

The BJP said it had no comments on the resignation as it was an internal affair of Pakistan. “We have been critical of Pakistan’s interference in our internal matters in the context of the recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir,” party spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

The CPI called the resignation a “welcome development” for the people of Pakistan who had been fighting for the restoration of democratic and civilian rule.

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