Musharraf Quits; U.S. Eyes a Coalition Government

By JANE PERLEZ

By Jane Perlez

The New York Times

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

Facing imminent impeachment charges, President Pervez Musharraf announced his resignation Monday, after months of belated recognition by U.S. officials that he had become a waning asset in the campaign against terrorism.

The decision removes from Pakistan’s political stage the leader who for nearly nine years served as one of the United States’ most important – and ultimately unreliable – allies. It leaves U.S. officials to deal with a new, elected coalition that has so far proved itself unwilling or incapable of confronting an expanding Taliban insurgency determined to topple the government.

“Whether I win or lose the impeachment, the nation will lose,” Musharraf said, explaining his decision in a televised speech that lasted more than an hour. He will not be put on trial, government officials said.

The question of who will succeed Musharraf is likely to unleash intense wrangling between the two rival political parties that form the governing coalition and to add a new layer of turbulence to an already unstable nuclear-armed nation of 165 million people.

The Bush administration maintains that Pakistan is the ally, not a departed general.

Suspicions between the United States and Pakistani intelligence agencies and their militaries are deepening. Among the concerns, senior U.S. officials say, is the durability of new controls over Pakistan’s nuclear program.

Though Pakistan has been through far more abrupt political transitions than this one – assassinations, a mysterious plane crash and coups – this is the first since it amassed a large nuclear arsenal.

Another concern is the war in Afghanistan, which has been fueled by militants who have used Pakistan as a rear base to launch attacks .

U.S. officials say they are skeptical they can count on cooperation from Pakistan’s military leaders, including Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, a former head of Pakistan’s spy agency, who replaced Musharraf as military chief in November.

Kayani has stressed to the Americans that his army is demoralized and weary. He has declined to undertake the kind of counterinsurgency training for his soldiers that Washington believes is necessary.

U.S. mistrust of the Pakistani military, which has depended heavily on U.S. financial support, has been heightened by Kayani’s reluctance to move more of the army’s focus from the border with India to the tribal areas, a U.S. officer who dealt with the army in Pakistan for several years said in an interview in July .

The campaign against the militants is unpopular because it is seen as a U.S. conflict foisted on the country.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought to emphasize continuity with the new leaders of Pakistan on Monday and said the United States would keep pressing the Pakistani government to battle extremism within its borders.

Rice pledged that the U.S. will help Pakistan “reach its goal of becoming a stable, prosperous, democratic, modern, Muslim nation.”

President Bush, at his ranch in Texas, made no statement about Musharraf’s resignation. White House spokesman Gordon Johnson said, “President Bush appreciates President Musharraf’s efforts in the democratic transition of Pakistan as well as his commitment to fighting al-Qaida and extremist groups.”

Musharraf’s political demise was nearly inevitable after he shed his military role last year and since his party was soundly defeated in parliamentary elections in February.

Since then, the White House has been grappling with a new political reality, where civilian leaders seem to have tenuous control over Pakistan’s military and intelligence establishment.

Some in the CIA and the Pentagon believe Pakistan’s Directorate for Inter-services Intelligence has used the democratic transition in Islamabad to strengthen ties to militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas who are launching operations into Afghanistan.

Uncertainty over who is in charge in Pakistan has heightened concerns over the country’s nuclear arsenal, which is variously estimated at 50 to 100 nuclear weapons.

While U.S. officials say publicly they are confident it is secure, in private they have harbored worries about what would happen when Musharraf no longer stood atop the country’s nuclear command structure .

Pakistan’s weapons themselves are considered less of a concern – thanks in part to a secret program launched by the Bush administration, with Musharraf’s consent, to help train Pakistani security forces to keep the weapons safe.

But U.S. officials say they do not know the details of how much of that money was spent .

In announcing his resignation, from his presidential office at 1 p.m., Musharraf said he was putting national interest above “personal bravado” and he was not prepared to put the office through the impeachment process. Musharraf said the governing coalition had tried to “turn lies into truths.”

He stepped down hours before a parliamentary session that was to have been a prelude to impeachment proceedings for alleged constitutional violations.

By 5 p.m., Musharraf had been granted a ceremonial departure composed of a military guard of honor, and he left the presidential building for the last time.

The chairman of the Senate, Muhammad Mian Soomro, was named acting president.

He will keep the office until a new president is chosen by the parliament and four provincial assemblies within 30 days.

Politicians began marathon meetings about possible replacements for Musharraf, with early reports suggesting a woman might be chosen. Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto and now the head of the Pakistan People’s Party, is known to want the job. He remains something of a controversial figure, having faced multiple counts of corruption in the past, though he was never convicted and says the charges were politically motivated. They were dropped when Zardari returned to Pakistan earlier this year.

One of the other candidates mentioned is Aftab Shaban Mirani, a former Minister of Defense and a longtime stalwart of the Pakistan Peoples Party.

The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and The Chicago Tribune contributed to this report.

ally resigns

Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf stepped down Monday, fueling concerns about the durability of new controls over Pakistan’s nuclear program. timeline of Musharraf’s career

Oct. 7, 1998: Appointed chief of army staff by then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

Oct. 12, 1999: Takes power in a coup

June 20, 2001: Appoints himself president of Pakistan while staying army chief

April 30, 2002: Holds a referendum to secure support to continue as president for a five-year term

December 2003: Survives series of assassination attempts

Dec. 30, 2004: Reneges on promise to resign as army chief; gains support of parliament to stay on until 2007

Oct. 6, 2007: Wins presidential election boycotted by many opponents

Nov. 3, 2007: Declares state of emergency, suspending the constitution and independent-minded judges

Nov. 28, 2007: Steps down as army chief, sworn in as civilian president

Feb. 18, 2008: Parliamentary elections bring Musharraf opponents to power

Aug. 8, 2008: Ruling coalition leaders announce they will seek Musharraf’s impeachment

Aug. 18, 2008: Musharraf resigns

– The Associated Press

Originally published by BY JANE PERLEZ.

(c) 2008 Virginian – Pilot. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.