Free Republic

Former Pakistani military dictator Pervez Musharraf has said he would be prepared to return to office in Pakistan if the political and economic situation in his country continues to deteriorate.In a rare interview since being forced to resign from office last year, Mr Musharraf, said he would consider serving a second term as Pakistan's president if he felt he could make a valuable contribution. "If Pakistan is in a nosedive, or about to self-destruct, if I can contribute something to rectify the situation, certainly I will. My life is for Pakistan," he said. "I still believe that Pakistan comes first."...

After eight years of rule in Pakistan, the former President retired Gen. Parvez Musharraf is now thinking of donning the Presidential suit by a more democratic method. Musharraf is thinking of launching a new political party in Pakistan, which he will be using as his vehicle to the country's top post. Quoting sources privy to the former President, said that a political party named "Pasdaran-e-Pakistan" is expected to be launched by the ex-military ruler. "When the general euphoria that followed the elections of February 18th ,2008, was replaced by a general sense of disappointment because of the dismal performance of...

Excerpt - WASHINGTON — Zalmay Khalilzad, the American ambassador to the United Nations, is facing angry questions from other senior Bush administration officials over what they describe as unauthorized contacts with Asif Ali Zardari, a contender to succeed Pervez Musharraf as president of Pakistan. Mr. Khalilzad had spoken by telephone with Mr. Zardari, the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, several times a week for the past month until he was confronted about the unauthorized contacts, a senior United States official said. Other officials said Mr. Khalilzad had planned to meet with Mr. Zardari privately next Tuesday while on vacation...

Pakistan's governing coalition is on the verge of collapse less than a week after the partners successfully forced out the country's former army chief and president, Pervez Musharraf. The Pakistan Muslim League (N) will meet Monday to decide whether to abandon support for the Pakistan People's Party, the coalition's senior partner, according to a spokesman for the Pakistan Muslim League, Ahsan Iqbal. Mr. Iqbal says the Pakistan People's Party has "unilaterally" taken recent decisions, casting a pall over a political partnership formed after February's parliamentary elections. The coalition's two main parties have split sharply over the restoration of judges that...

Benazir Bhutto widower Asif Ali Zardari set to replace Pervez Musharraf Zahid Hussain in Islamabad Asif Ali Zardari, the controversial widower of Benazir Bhutto, became the front-runner to replace Pervez Musharraf as Pakistan’s President yesterday when he was nominated to run in an election scheduled for next month. Ms Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) nominated Mr Zardari unanimously four days after Mr Musharraf resigned. Mr Musharraf’s departure deprived the West of its key Muslim ally in the War on Terror. “Zardari thanked Pakistan People’s Party of which he is the co-chairman and said he will announce his decision within the...

Nukes unlikely to be affected by Musharraf leaving By MATTHEW PENNINGTON, Associated Press Writer Tue Aug 19, 12:38 AM ET Pervez Musharraf's departure from the presidency is unlikely to have a significant impact on how Pakistan's nuclear weapons are controlled. Experts say a 10-member committee, and not just the president, makes decisions on how to use them and only a complete meltdown in governance — still a distant prospect in Pakistan — could put the atomic bomb in the hands of extremists. "Pakistan's nuclear assets are not one man's property," said Maria Sultan, a defense analyst and director at the...

War On Terror: Conventional wisdom says Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's forced resignation robs the West of a key strategic terror ally. Truth is, he was a reluctant ally at best.Let's hope his exit will force the new democratically elected government to focus on the Islamist threat that only grew larger on his watch. Musharraf stepped down to avoid impeachment charges nine years after taking power in a military coup. The general abused his power by sacking a supreme court justice and dozens of other judges who dared rule that he had to remove his uniform and hold free elections as...

Islamabad, 18 August (AKI) - US President George W. Bush will continue to work with Pakistan in the fight against terrorism following the resignation of President Pervez Musharraf, the White House said on Monday. In a statement, Bush acknowledged Musharraf for his efforts to strengthen democracy and fight terrorism and pledged to continue its commitment in the future. "President Bush is committed to a strong Pakistan that continues its efforts to strengthen democracy and fight terror," US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. Musharraf resigned in a televised address to the nation on Monday to avoid facing impeachment moves...

"....Pakistan now enters a dangerous moment of instability. It is not yet clear who will replace Musharraf, and as I’ve written before, Pakistan has long been one car bomb away from a bin Laden-ally seizing power. Should an al Qaeda-type Radical gain control of the country and its nuclear weapons, we could be facing an apocalyptic moment....." For all his many flaws, Musharraf was steadily becoming a Reformer. After 9/11, he became a key ally of the U.S., helping us in our war against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan rather than interferring. He and his security forces worked...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — President Pervez Musharraf stepped down from his post Monday, ending a nearly nine-year tenure that his opponents said was hindering Pakistan's shaky return to democracy. Musharraf said he wanted to spare Pakistan from a dangerous power struggle with opponents vowing to impeach him. He said he was satisfied that all he had done "was for the people and for the country."

via translation ALERT - The President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf resigns ISLAMABAD - President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan announced his resignation Monday, the eve of an impeachment procedure announced by his government.

Excerpt - ISLAMABAD, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, under pressure to step down before he is impeached, will address the nation at 1 p.m. (0700 GMT) on Monday, an official in the president's office told Reuters. Speculation the former army chief and firm U.S. ally will resign has been mounting since the coalition government, led by the party of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, said this month it planned to impeach him. ~ snip ~

ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief dashed to Pakistan for talks with the government over its plans to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, a senior official in Islamabad said Saturday. The visit of Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz came as a minister from the ruling coalition pressed Musharraf to stand down within two days and avoid putting the country through a destabilising impeachment battle. "Yes, Saudi intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz did visit Pakistan on Friday and met senior government officials," a senior coalition official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Faced with desertions by his political supporters and the neutrality of the Pakistani military, President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, an important ally of the United States, is expected to resign in the next few days rather than face impeachment charges, Pakistani politicians and Western diplomats said Thursday. His departure from office would be likely to unleash new instability in the country as the two main parties in the civilian government jockeyed for the division of power. The details of how Mr. Musharraf would exit, and whether he would be able to stay in Pakistan — apparently his...

Musharraf to Leave Office By ZAHID HUSSAIN and PETER WONACOTT August 14, 2008 1:02 p.m. ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf is expected to leave office in the next few days before Pakistan's Parliament takes up impeachment proceedings against him after the president's aides and officials of Pakistan's leading political party reached a breakthrough in secret talks designed to ease Mr. Musharraf's departure from office, according to a person familiar with the situation.

ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf has decided in principle to quit and a decision in this context will be announced by him on August 14, Independence Day, a senior Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader confided to Daily Times. It is learnt that if he resigns ahead of the impeachment the ruling coalition will give him safe passage. Apologise to people: One advice given to President Musharraf is to apologise to the people of Pakistan and the judiciary for sacking Iftikhar Chaudhry and the other judges and restore them all before quitting. Another advice to him is to restore the judges and...

Excerpt - ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Pakistan's ruling coalition has agreed to launch impeachment proceedings against President Pervez Musharraf, party sources told AFP on Thursday. ~ snip ~

Operation Sirat-e-Mustaqeem: as straight as a coil! Wednesday, July 02, 2008 By Mohammad Malick PESHAWAR: Who is really in charge in the Khyber Agency and who has written the script of the operation Sirat-e-Mustakeem to deal with the Fata situation and are the unfolding events unravelling as per the predetermined script? One militant commander claimed that an informal arrangement had been reached prior to the beginning of the operation whereby approximately 25 ‘bigger structures’ shall be blown in the Bara region by the security forces and then the process will stop. We will soon know whether this statement is true...

Musharraf toeing US line to break Pakistan: A Q Khan Thursday, June 26, 2008 News Desk RAWALPINDI: President Pervez Musharraf is working on the US agenda of dismembering Pakistan by 2015, a news agency reported here Wednesday quoting renowned Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan. It quoted Dr Khan as having told an Urdu-language weekly published from New York in a telephonic interview that Musharraf is doing whatever the US wants. He said the US plans to break up Pakistan by 2015. Bitterly criticising the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), he said it is not an international organisation but...

Excerpt - ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stepped up his attack on President Pervez Musharraf at a rally of protesters outside the presidency on Saturday, suggesting he could be hanged. "We asked you (Musharraf) to quit with honour after the election but you didn't," Sharif told the crowd. "Now people have given a new judgment for you... they want you to be held accountable." The crowd, running into several thousands, chanted "hang Musharraf" as it listened to the two-time former PM's fiery speech. "Is hanging only for politicians?" said Sharif, referring to former PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, hanged...