Pakistan’s government had vowed to start impeachment proceedings against President Pervez Musharraf. A session of the National Assembly, Pakistan’s lower house of parliament, had been scheduled for today to initiate the proceedings. However, Musharraf pre-empted the move by announcing his resignation.
Since the election, which saw the return to power of two Musharraf’s foes – former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto –Musharraf’s main constituency has been in the White House. The State Department grasped a few months ago that the president’s career was unsalvageable.
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James Delingpole
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Musharraf chose to jump before he was pushed. This guaranteed that he would maintain a little dignity, and avoids the threat of an army-led intervention. But rather than solving the problem Musharraf’s resignation is likely to mark the beginning of a protracted struggle for power between Zardari and Sharif.
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