Leader defends his record in televised address to the nation
Pervez Musharraf announces his resignation. Photograph: Dawn TV/AFP
Pakistan’s president, Pervez Musharraf, today announced his resignation after robustly defending his record.
Expectations that the former army chief and firm US ally would go had been mounting since the coalition government, led by the party of the assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, said this month it planned to impeach him.
In a televised address to the nation, he defended his decision to impose emergency rule late last year, claiming his political opponents would have made matters worse for Pakistan.
He said Pakistan had always been his priority, and that he had imposed emergency rule in order to save the country from crisis.
Musharraf said his policies had improved the economy and women’s rights, and laid the ground for democracy.
“People have said my policies over the past nine years have been wrong – they were wrong,” said Musharraf. “My critics must not make things worse for Pakistan.
“Some elements acting for vested interests have made false allegations against me. Everything I have done will have long-term benefits for Pakistan.”
Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup but has been largely sidelined since his rivals won parliamentary elections in February, had for months resisted calls on him to resign.
Peace and Justice Post 
Pakistan court orders Musharraf to explain emergency rule
July 23, 2009ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered former president Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday to answer questions next week about his decisions to oust the judiciary and impose emergency rule in 2007.
The order, issued by a 14-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, instructs Musharraf to either show up in court himself on July 29 or have an attorney do so on his behalf.
Compliance is not mandatory, but failure to show up will mean Musharraf will have no further chances to defend himself in a case that is aimed at determining whether it was constitutional for him to oust the judiciary and impose emergency rule in November 2007.
The government’s top lawyer said this would be Musharraf’s only opportunity to defend himself.
“We’ve made it clear to the bench that we aren’t prepared to defend him. The government doesn’t consider his actions lawful or constitutional,” Attorney-General Latif Khosa told Reuters after the hearing.
Asked whether criminal proceedings could be started against Musharraf if his actions were declared unconstitutional, Khosa said that would be up to parliament.
“A committee has already been formed to annul his amendments and if it gives the go-ahead, that could happen,” he said.
Musharraf’s moves in late 2007, which included ousting Chaudhry and other judges, triggered nationwide protests and were seen by political opponents as a bid to extend his presidency for another five years.
However, the unpopularity of emergency rule, together with the assassination of rival politician Benazir Bhutto, weakened support for Musharraf, leading to a victory for the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in elections in February 2008.
Musharraf resigned last August in the face of an impending impeachment motion, and he left Pakistan over a month ago for London.
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Tags:emergency rule, Pakistan, Pakistan's Supreme Court, Pervez Musharraf
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