News and Politics | August 18, 2008 | 30 comments

Pakistan's Musharraf quits

source: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2008/08/200881872622407165.html

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President Pervez Musharraf has said he'll step down today before impeachment proceedings against him. He made his announcement in a televised address to Pakistan today to defend himself against the impeachment charges drawn up by the country's governing coalition. The finalised charges were to be filed this week. The impeachment would have been the first in Pakistan's history.

"After consultations with my legal advisers and close political friends, for the country and the nation today, I am deciding to resign from my office. I am leaving with the satisfaction that whatever I did for this country and the population, I did with honesty and commitment," a teary-eyed Musharraf said.
"But I am also a human being," he added. "I might have made some mistakes, but I have hope that this nation and the population will tolerate those mistakes with the belief that my intentions were always clear and to the benefit of this country."

Musharraf is stepping down from a presidency he seized nearly nine years ago in coup. Local media reports said he has been granted "safe passage" out of the country.

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30 comments // Pakistan's Musharraf quits

  • jubal
    • 0
      jubal  

    • With Musharraf out of the way, there will surely be a clash between the Democratic reformers and the Fundamentalist Muslims for control of the government. Remember the assassination of Benazir Bhutto? And there is the issue that Pericles raised about their nukes. War between Pakistan and India over Kashmir could also explode.

      There are many delicate situations in the world, any of which could signal the beginning of the next World Conflict. Prepare for battleground EARTH.

    • 3 years ago
  • simonedward
    • 0
      simonedward  
    • jubal:

      If we, as in everyone, feel the need not to prepare for war, and teach, preach and remind others that they should prepare for peace, (in their own way) than there would be no need to be afraid of this.

    • 3 years ago
  • simonedward
    • 0
      simonedward  

    • It is unfortunate that so many people backed this man, but it is also unfortunate that so many people back any leader instead of becoming their own guides, using their own morals, and deciding for themselves

    • 3 years ago
  • sbutler356
  • iknew
  • huntre
    • 0
      huntre  

    • See?
      You put enough potential impeachment pressure on your president and he resigns. Simple enough.
      We (the US) should give this a shot.

    • 3 years ago
  • SpaycG
  • Neghie
  • Pericles_Lewnes
    • 0
      Pericles_Lewnes  

    • This is a very complicated and unstable government with nukes. Everyone should watch this closely. I'm sure India is on full alert.

      This is such an unstable region, I hope that the interim President Muhammad Mian Soomro is up to the task being the caretaker of this volatile house of cards.

    • 3 years ago
  • ChardaeD
  • yonie
  • ihateyou
  • mattbrawn
  • seeker561
    • 0
      seeker561  

    • " I hope and pray that the new leadership Pakistan will continue to work with the United States...."

      Don't hold your breath. We are far more likely to hear the kind of bluster that is coming from Iran. And don't forget, Pakistan already has the bomb!

    • 3 years ago
  • mjsmith11
    • 0
      mjsmith11  

    • President Parvez Musharraf a.k.a. "BUSHarraf" was a very important ally of the United States against the war on terror. I hope and pray that the new leadership Pakistan will continue to work with the United States in capturing and destroying Taliban and al-Qaeda enemies, including Osama bin Laden.

    • 3 years ago
  • ihateyou
  • Sapho
  • DJMatt2
    • 0
      DJMatt2  
    • Sapho:

      He wasn't our puppet. More like a weasel. He sucked up to us after 9/11 because he knew that if he didn't, we'd be occupying Pakistan AND Afghanistan, and he'd be sitting in Gitmo.

      He's not our friend. He certainly isn't Bush Junior's friend. And his removal from office was long overdue.

    • 3 years ago
  • ihateyou
  • celestialceiling
  • AutifK
    • 0
      AutifK  
    • celestialceiling:

      That doesn't make sense. If everyone is a leader, then no one is a leader because a leader guides his followers. But, if everyone else is a leader, then no one is a follower. Since no one is a follower, everyone cannot be a leader because they have no followers to lead/guide.

    • 3 years ago
  • celestialceiling
  • AutifK
    • 0
      AutifK  
    • celestialceiling:

      Ok, that makes more sense. I was objecting to everyone being a leader of peace. But if instead, when you said that everyone can be a leader, you meant everyone can lead in the respective area that they are better than anyone else at leading in when the circumstances demand their area of leading, then yea, I agree with you. (Why would anyone want a person who is not better than someone else at leading in that person's area?) Now, it isn't obvious to me how this achieves peace. Tell me how this achieves peace.

    • 3 years ago
  • celestialceiling
  • AutifK
    • 0
      AutifK  
    • celestialceiling:

      Well, now you need to clarify yourself again. Before you said that everyone can be a leader and now you are saying that no one should be above anyone else. How can we have leaders if they are not 'above anyone else'? Perhaps it is 'above anyone else' that needs to be clarified.

    • 3 years ago
  • jubal
  • jubal
    • 0
      jubal  
    • celestialceiling:

      Every person needs to be wanted and loved in this world. If we were free from the machinations of the money changers we could begin to rebuild the human relationships that we require to survive and to live happy and prosperous lives. We would not be slaves to fear and despair and poverty.

    • 3 years ago
  • hail_eris
  • AutifK
    • 0
      AutifK  
    • hail_eris:

      If only a few people know what it means to be peaceful and maintain peace, how does everyone else become peaceful and maintain peace? Since not everyone knows how to be peaceful and maintain peace, sounds like everyone else would need leaders to show them how to be peaceful and maintain peace.

    • 3 years ago
  • Beta_Boy
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