Pakistan's Musharraf steps down

"I leave myself in the hands of the people." - Pervez Musharraf

Aug.18.- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, facing impeachment on charges drawn up by the governing coalition, has announced that he is resigning.

He went on national TV to say that while he was confident the charges would not stand, this was not the time for more confrontation. [ See video ]

He is accused of violation of the constitution and gross misconduct.

The Speaker of the Pakistani Senate, Muhammad Mian Sumroo, automatically took over as caretaker president.

Mr Musharraf has been a key ally of the US in its "war on terror" since he took power in a bloodless coup in 1999 ...

Mr. Musharraf said the governing coalition, which has pushed for impeachment, had tried to “turn lies into truths.”

“They don’t realize they can succeed against me but the country will undergo irreparable damage,” he said.

In an emotional ending to a speech lasting more than an hour, Mr. Musharraf raised his clenched fists to chest height, and said, “Long live Pakistan!”

His resignation came after 10 days of intense political maneuvering in Pakistan, and cleared the way for the four-month-old coalition government to choose a new president by a vote of Parliament and the provincial assemblies. But there were intense concerns in Washington that Mr. Musharraf’s departure would open a new era of instability in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed country of 165 million people ...

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