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Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf resigned from office today rather than face the prospects of being the first president in the nation’s history to be impeached. The news, greeted by celebrations in the country, came just hours ago as mounting political pressures increasingly isolated the former president who took power in a 1999 coup. Officials from two major parties united in the civilian government coalition, had warned that charges against the former President would be presented to parliament later this week. A two-thirds majority in the upper and lower houses of parliament would have been needed in order to carry out an impeachment against Musharraf for his suspension of the constitution, dismissal of judges, and imposition of emergency rule in Pakistan last November. Musharraf could still face trial for treason which the coalition party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is calling for. The Pakistan People’s Party, of the late Benazir Bhutto, on the other hand, said that the matter should be resolved by parliament. With the official end of the Musharraf era in Pakistan, it is not clear who will take his place. Under the constitution, a new president must be elected within the next thirty days.

GUEST: Shahid Mahmood, editorial cartoonist for Dawn, a national newspaper in Pakistan. He is now internationally syndicated with the New York Times Syndicate. His website is www.drawnconclusions.com.