Islamabad (PTI): Pakistan's leading newspapers on Tuesday said former President Pervez Musharraf's exit from the country's top post was "inevitable" and wondered why he took so long to step down, while pointing out the need for the nation to move on.

Commenting on the development, leading English daily Dawn's editorial said Musharraf "bowed to the inevitable", in a step that an "overwhelming majority" of politicians were hoping for.

"It came at 2.02 pm. Three quarters of an hour into a speech that kept the nation on tenterhooks. President Musharraf bowed to the inevitable and announced his resignation. Here at last was the moment the overwhelming majority of the country's politicians had been hoping for," the editorial titled "Exit Musharraf" read.

"Most will wonder why it took the president so long; some will rue the lost opportunity to impeach him. What is incontestable is that the country must move on from this crisis quickly," it said.

Now that that hurdle has removed itself, the paper said, the field is open for politicians to address the most pressing problems facing the nation, prominent among which are militancy and economy, besides relations with India and Afghanistan.

Another popular English daily The News called the President's exit a "delusional departure".

"The inevitable has happened. Left with no options, President Musharraf has stepped down. His reign of nearly nine years has ended. The nation has heard him speak for the very last time as head of state," the News read.