Adil Najam
In a nationally televised speech, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan, has just announced his resignation, pre-empting a move to impeach him by the parliament.
This post has been updated to add news photos from this momentous day in Pakistan’s political history. The pictures speak eloquently of the moods and thoughts of the day. (Scroll down to see the video of Gen. Musharraf’s resignation speech).
Participate in a poll on what might be Pakistan’s future post-Musharraf, here.
Here is a Pervez Musharraf time-line, published in The News:
August 1943: Born in Delhi, India
1964: Joins Pakistani army.
1998: Becomes army chief of staff.
October 1999: Seizes power in a bloodless military coup, overthrowing the prime minister, Nawaz Sharif. In response, the Commonwealth suspends Pakistan’s membership.
June 20 2001: Makes himself president, replacing Rafiq Tarar, while remaining head of the army. Tarar is forced out of office when the parliament that elected him is dissolved.
July 2001: Holds first meeting with the Indian prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, at Agra in India. No progress is made because of differences over the disputed territory of Kashmir.
September 2001: George Bush courts Musharraf, asking him to join him in his “war on terror” and help defeat the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan. The US president promises Pakistan $1bn in aid.
April 2002: Wins a referendum giving him another five years in office. Observers criticise the referendum as blighted by irregularities.
May 2002: Pakistan test fires three medium-range surface-to-surface missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Musharraf insists his country would not be the one to initiate war.
August 2002: Consolidates his power still further, giving himself the right to dismiss an elected parliament.
October 2002: Pakistan’s first general election since Musharraf seized power in 1999 results in a hung parliament.
November 2002: Mir Zafarullah Jamali becomes the first civilian prime minister since 1999. He is a member of a Musharraf-supporting party.
November 2003: Pakistan’s National Assembly meets for the first time since 1999.
December 2003: Musharraf promises to step down as head of the army by January 2005.
May 2004: Pakistan is readmitted to the Commonwealth.
December 2004: Musharraf announces he will stay on as head of the army.
August 2005: Pakistan tests its first nuclear-capable cruise missile.
March 2007: Musharraf suspends the chief justice, Iftakar Mohammed Chaudhry, triggering a wave of anger across the country and the first joint protests held by the parties of exiled former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.
October 2007: Signs a corruption amnesty, opening the way for Bhutto’s return and a possible power-sharing agreement. Within hours of Bhutto’s arrival back in the country, bombers attack a Bhutto rally in Karachi, killing more than 100 people.
November 2007: Declares a state of emergency, rounding up opposition leaders at gunpoint. In the same month, Musharraf quits as head of the army, becoming a civilian president.
December 15 2007: Lifts state of emergency and announces plans to go ahead with parliamentary elections scheduled for January 8.
December 27 2007: Benazir Bhutto is assassinated at an election rally in Rawalpindi.
January 2008: Elections postponed until February 18.
February 2008: The two main opposition parties gain a clear majority in the elections.
August 2008: The two main parties strike a deal to impeach Musharraf if parliament backs the move.
August 18 2008: Musharraf announces his resignation
Death and hangings never brought any one peace. So you kill someone. Then what?
Please focus on making your selves better. It seems as if everyone only blames everyone else and then they say, “oh, if we could hang just one more person, then all our problems will be solved”
It’s funny that the current government is saying, “oh, AFTER mush is gone, THEN we’ll take care of electricity problem, food problem, violence problem”. Did submitting an impeachment form really take 24 hours per day.
The problem was never Musharaf. Our problems existed since DECADES before musharraf even came to power. Then musharraf came in and everyone was dancing in the streets demanding Nawaz Shareef to be hanged and exiled. Now Musharraf’s leaving and people are dancing in the streets again demanding Musharraf to be hanged or exiled.
The COMMON thing in all these situations are an uninformed and impatient populous. If you can’t fix your selves, the government will not fix it self and the country will not fix it self because YOU are who the government ultimately becomes.
I am so saddened to see Musharraf go. But he has done so with his head held high and his dignity in place. Pakistan will undoubtedly crumble and i can only hope Musharraf will be nearby to come help us again when the current thugs kill each other off.
oh and someone please shut up bilawal before he reproduces.
Lets see what the Adam’s family can do? They are the same old corrupt politicians. We are going back to the 90s. There will be an army operation in Karachi, train marches, looting of wealth, lies etc etc. Pakistan is not prepared for democracy until these people like the sharifs, zardaris, bhuttos, chaudries, khans etc. They are all traitors to there religion and to this nation. These people must be thrown on a inhabited island in the middle of the pacific and left to rot and die.
Hello,
Mushraf wo insan ha jis ne na sirf pakistan balke dossry islami mumalik ko be nuksan ponchaya.
Mushraf ne Afghanistan me lakho Talibns ko shahiyed karwa diya.
Pakistan me Wariztan me Taliban ko shahiyed karwya.
Lal masjid me masoom logo per gas istamal ke jis se wo gil ge.
Mery Allah se dua ha ke mera Allah mushraf to taba o barbad kary .
Ya Allah mushrif ko tabah kar
Ya Allah mushrif ko barbad kar
Amin.
The constitution of Pakistan gives the President option to resign prior to any impeachment…..If Musharraf is a coward to resign then our constitution is also truly the representative of a coward nation!