Pakastani President Pervez Musharraf is set to resign sometime in the next few days, this according to the NY Times. Musharraf has been under increasing pressure in recent weeks as the newly elected governing coalition in Pakistan has been moving towards a vote on his impeachment.
Mr. Musharraf was expected to resign before the governing coalition presented charges for impeachment to the Parliament early next week, said Nisar Ali Khan, a senior official in the Pakistani Muslim League-N, the minority partner in the coalition government.
Similarly, Sheikh Mansoor Ahmed, a senior official of the Pakistan Peoples Party, the major party in the coalition, said Thursday that the president would probably leave in the “next 72 hours.”
Inexorable pressure has built on Mr. Musharraf, a member of the military by profession and often impetuous by nature, to take a way out from the current crisis that would save him from embarrassing disclosures during impeachment procedures and that would protect the nation from a prolonged political agony.
The U.S. was right to back Musharraf in the beginning. He was a big help after 9/11 and the intelligence he provided was critical. Unfortunately, over the last few years he has allowed terrorists to create a new infrastructure in the tribal regions. Rather than take on the militants with the help of the U.S. he continues to try and negotiate with them while people continue to die.
There’s a new party in charge now in Pakistan that was elected by the people. Musharraf has become an obstacle in Pakistan now, and it is time for him to step aside. Although doubtful, maybe Benazir Bhutto’s party which is now in charge will be a better partner in The War on Terror.
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