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Musharraf finally gives up "saving" Pakistan

By Simon Cameron-Moore

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Faced with the humiliation of impeachment, former army chief Pervez Musharraf quit as Pakistan president on Monday, having lost political, popular and increasingly even U.S. support.

Born in New Delhi on August 11, 1943, Musharraf arrived with his parents in Karachi, Pakistan's first capital, a day after the Partition of India in 1947.

A career army officer, Musharraf came to power in a 1999 coup, went on to be a close U.S. ally in the war against terror, and narrowly survived al Qaeda-inspired assassination attempts.

His enemies said he betrayed Islam by caving in to U.S. pressure to abandon support for the Taliban government hosting al Qaeda in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

He believed he saved Pakistan.

The U.S. government sank more than $11 billion into Pakistan, mostly its military, and expected Musharraf to produce results.

Pakistan captured hundreds of al Qaeda, and lost over 1,000

soldiers fighting in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Yet suspicions lingered that Pakistani intelligence agencies played a double-game, allowing the Taliban safe refuge.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNew ... 5420080818
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Twisted_Logic,

I remember the time you said that the Pakistani intelligence agency was the real ruler of Pakistan and that Musharaf did not have as much power as people thought.

This current development may assist your line of reasoning.

Give us your commentary on this latest development in South-Asia as you follow that region quite often.

Did you know that Strawberries are the only fruit whose seeds grow on the outside

Somaliweyn wrote:Twisted_Logic,

I remember the time you said that the Pakistani intelligence agency was the real ruler of Pakistan and that Musharaf did not have as much power as people thought.

This current development may assist your line of reasoning.

Give us your commentary on this latest development in South-Asia as you follow that region quite often.

This was bound to happen the minute the elections were held. The fact that Pro-Musharraf wing of the Muslim League was routed out spectacularly of majority of their seats meant that from the very onset it was really a matter of when and not if Musharraf was going to resign. However, the latest tension between Musharraf and the military on one hand against the so-called liberal democrats on the other began after the Military rejected any plans to place the ISI under civilian control. Doing so would have greatly jeopardized Pakistan's sovereignty as civilians are prone to external influences, but it would have also made Asif Zardari, the widower of Mrs. Bhutto the most powerful man in the country.

Because of Musharraf's resignation, the Liberal Democrats have won the first round of future conflict with Pro-Musharraf military. The military has always defended its men and it would be very interesting what the Military's reaction will be. Some are even saying the National Reconciliation Order (NRO) that Musharraf signed with the liberal democrats in Pakistan to forgive them for the past crimes might be thrown out of the window and Nawaz Sharif ( read the real architecture of Musharraf's impeachment drive) will be tried for crimes of attempted homicide ( his plans to blow a civilian plane carrying Musharraf and 199 other civilians in mid-air in 1999) and Asif Zardari the current Boss of Pakistan will be tried for high corruption. I think the legacy of Musharraf's impeachment will be the restoration of all charges against the liberal democrats especially Zardari as Sharif is creation of the Military. It can also be seen as means for the Military to completely detach themselves from the establishment and expose the incompetence of these so-called liberal democrats to the public which will hurt them in the next elections.

Having said that, history will remember the man as one of Pakistan's greatest leaders and his accomplishments will be long cherished. I salute the Man