Pervez Musharraf has finally hung up his civilian boots too. He has resigned as the President of Pakistan to avoid impeachment proceedings which were to be brought against him by the ruling coalition.

For a man who has been a fighter all his life (both in and out of battleground), this goes against his grain. But, Musharraf had little option left in the face of reluctance from two of his strongest allies, the Pakistani Army and the United States of America, to openly support any initiative on his part to hold on to his chair. Pressure from his family members too must have impacted his decision to resign.

The National Assembly of Pakistan has accepted the resignation with immediate effect. Some political commentators call it the ‘end of an era’ while others say it is the ‘end of an error!’

Reacting to Musharraf’s resignation, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, said: “After the martyrdom of my mother I said that democracy was the best revenge—and today it was proved true.” Bilawal is the son of the slain PPP leader, Benazir Bhutto, and the incumbent chairman of Pakistan People’s Party which is one of the two major parties to the ruling coalition in Pakistan. The other major coalition partner is Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (N).

Questions are already being raised about the sanctity of the impeachment motion which was sought to be brought about by the coalition leaders Asif Lai Zardari (father of Bilawal who is sitting in for Bilawal till he completes his studies) and Nawaz Sharif (leader of Pakistan Muslim League-N) as neither of them is a sitting member of the National Assembly.

During the last decade, Musharraf has come to be known for his resilience. He bounced back each time adversity stared him in his face and emerged stronger.

Nawaz Sharif thought he had seen the last of Musharraf when Nawaz refused Musharraf’s plane the permission to land at the Islamabad Airport when he returned after an assignment. Musharraf not only returned to grab power and become the president but also sent Nawaz scurrying for cover to Saudi Arabia.

Musharraf not only stage-managed his elections as president but also helped his supporters the King’s party (PML-Q) to assimilate power. He not only sacked the Chief Justice when faced with a threat of removal from the president’s post but also had an extended stay as the army chief for three years.

Musharraf not only declared emergency without consulting Benazir Bhutto but also tried to stall the elections when he suspected that the PML(Q) may not win the elections. He is believed to have sabotaged the prospects of Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif of becoming the Prime Minister of Pakistan. He quit as the army chief last year but he is yet to vacate the army general’s house. Musharraf’s obsession with whatever he acquires is well known and his propensity to overstay can find no parallel in this world!

For India, a democratic nation in the neighbourhood is much better than a dictatorial regime or army rule there. It is true that there was no major confrontation on the Indo-Pak border in Musharraf’s government after the Kargil war. But, how can anyone forget that Musharraf was the chief architect of the Kargil war?

For the United States of America, Musharraf’s exit may be a huge loss though they are trying to underplay their sentiments. It is difficult to find a pliable dictator like Musharraf particularly in a strategic location which shares borders with nations it is interested in.

It goes to the credit of Musharraf that he at least managed to keep president George Bush under the illusion that he would help the US in nabbing the al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden and stand by them in their war on terrorism. The world knows that Musharraf scuttled most of what he got from the US to crush Taliban and al Qaeda and diverted the funds to launch a terror campaign in India and along the Indo-Pak border.

It is not that the US did not want to stand by him. The US does not care two hoots about what it does in other countries but it is wary of being seen as doing wrong. It already has its plates full with allegation of its undue interference in Iraq, Afghanistan and, now, Iran.

The Pakistan army too was not in a comfortable position to support him. The Pakistani army has stepped in, in the past, to discipline civilian governments for their actions or inactions. But, that was only after letting the governments continue in power for over a year. Four months is too short a period to justify its intervention.

Also, it has been quite some time since General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani took over charge of the Pakistani army. He is known to be a loyalist and protégé of Musharraf. But, he must be raring to go.

However, it must be acknowleged in favour of General Kayani that he has retained his cool and maintained a distance from the day to day politics of Pakistan. It might be a studied silence with the idea of aligning with the victor in the power struggle. But, that cannot be declared with any finality.

As far as Musharraf is concerned, he might like a quiet holiday somewhere. In any case, Pakistan may not be a safe haven for Musharraf as a common man if it could not ensure the safety and security of Benazir Bhutto at the peak of her election campaign.

From all accounts, Musharraf was never really worried about his impeachment. He might have neutralized the proceedings if he had decided to fight back. In any case, the ruling coalition never had the numbers. It was 29 votes short of the two-thirds majority required to carry the motion.

If the worst came to the worst, he could always lean on his distant ally to negotiate a safe passage for him. After all the US has an equation with Zardari. After all, the US had an understanding with Benazir Bhutto. And, if he needed to stalemate Nawaz Sharif, he could always count on the Saudi royalty to bat for him. After all, it was the Saudi royalty who played host to Nawaz during his years of exile. So, the arrival of the intelligence chief of Saudi Arabia comes as no surprise to anyone.

All said and done, the army cannot let down one of its generals. Even if he is a former general. It is question of prestige for the army. If anybody has any doubt on that count, the grand farewell Musharraf received must lay those doubts to rest.

Coming back to the coalition government in Pakistan, prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani is remote controlled by Asif Zardari. Now, Zardari himself feels insecure in Pakistan. He camps in Dubai and even summons ministers for meetings to Dubai.
Nawaz Sharif seems to be working to his own agenda. He seems to be pinning his hopes on the next elections whenever that might be!

So, who is going to replace Musharraf? Zardari talked of a woman president. Probably, his sister. But, Nawaz Sharif doesn’t seem too pleased with that. Nawaz feels that he should be consulted on issues like this before such information is made public. The fissures are beginning to show.

It is over four months since the ruling coalition came to power. But, nothing seems to have changed in Pakistan. They had Musharraf to blame for the continuing mess. Now, he is gone. That might pressure the government to fulfill their promises and show some results at ground level.

Is this the end of Musharraf’s political career? Maybe yes, and, maybe no! It should surprise no one if Musharraf makes a comeback as a politician after lying low for some time!