Rise and fall of Pak President Pervez Musharaff //hamropalo

On October 12 1999, Pervez Musharraf went from being the chief of Pakistan's army to the chief of its government. In a bloodless coup, democracy was toppled and the general faced flak for it, but that didn't stop him from formally appointing himself President less than two years later on June 20, 2001.

The event which was going to define Musharraf's presidency however came later that year - on September 11.

Almost overnight, the man who many in the west had shunned as a dictator became a pivotal player in the war on terror. Islamists' back home, however, denounced him as a traitor.

In April 2002, Musharraf conducted a widely criticised referendum where he won himself five years in office. By August that year, he had sweeping new powers including the right to dismiss and elect a Parliament.

In October 2002, the general elections resulted in a hung parliament, but Musharraf bailed himself out by making a deal with a coalition of Islamic parties.

He promised to leave the army by December 31 2004, but later broke his promise.

The next few years saw him walking a tightrope. His relationship with the US had its ups and down.

Musharraf's true test however lay ahead. On March 9, 2007, he fired chief justice Iftikhar Choudhary accusing him of misuse of authority. A week later, the police attacked the office of a private news channel minutes after it showed a video of police roughing up Choudhary's supporters.

On May 12, 2007, large-scale clashes left 35 people dead and then the Pakistan army raided the Lal Masjid on July 10. Musharraf had been avoiding action against the madarsa for nearly seven months, but finally, extremism was met with an iron fist.

But his problems did not end there what with a failed peace deal in Waziristan, imposition of Emergency, return of rivals from exile and unhappy Islamists at home.

In October 2007, Musharraf got himself re-elected as the President of Pakistan and went on to impose Emergency in November 2007.

Later that month, a tearful Musharraf handed over the command of the army to General Ashfaq Kayani. It was the beginning of his end and Benazir Bhutto's assassination in December 2007 only delayed the inevitable.

The February 2008 elections saw Bhutto's PPP and the PML-N trounce Musharraf's allies. The election result flung the biggest challenge for Musharraf as it brought the same man he deposed - Nawaz Sharif - closer to power.

The new ruling coalition then decided to impeach President Musharraf for alleged misconduct, violation of the Constitution and financial irregularities. In yet another sign of eroding support for him ahead of the impeachment motion in Parliament, three of Pakistan's four provinces - Punjab Assembly, North West Frontier Province Assembly and Sindh Assembly - adopted a resolution asking him to face a vote of confidence or resign.

If President Musharraf does not announce his resignation on Monday, then the ruling coalition will go ahead and file for impeachment. If the coalition succeeds in getting a two-thirds majority in a combined sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate to topple him, it would be a first in Pakistan's 61-year history.