Insiders say Musharraf to resign

Source: CBS News

Reports of Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf's decision to step down by Sunday and avoid a parliamentary impeachment which could begin on Monday, does little to end internal political discord in the U.S.-backed south Asian country, senior Western diplomats warned late Thursday night.

The warnings from diplomats followed confirmation to CBS News from two senior Pakistani government officials who both said, president Musharraf had decided to step down by Sunday. They officials spoke on condition that they would not be named due to the sensitivity of the information.

Just before stepping down, Musharraf would hand charge to Mohammad Mian Soomro, chairman of Pakistan's senate and next in line to the president. Soomro will then continue as acting president of the country till fresh elections and held within six to twelve weeks, according to one of the two Pakistani government officials who spoke to CBS News.

News of Musharraf's departure will present the U.S. with the dilemma of re-establishing close relations with a new Pakistani president, especially to carry on close coordination between the two countries in the U.S. led war on terror. But questions remain over the way such a transition would work.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/14/world/main4351299.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_4351299

By Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/971acf1c-6a19-11dd-83e8-0000779fd18c.html

Pakistan’s beleaguered president Pervez Musharraf is to step down after nine years in office, government officials and a member of his circle have told the Financial Times.

A senior officer in Mr Musharraf’s camp on Thursday conceded that he had decided to step down to avoid a parliamentary impeachment that was likely to begin on Monday.

A senior Pakistani government official said that a deal had been brokered between president Musharraf and members of the newly elected coalition government, with the army playing a key role in the agreement.

“The president will neither be impeached nor prosecuted on any charges. He will try and stay in Pakistan,” said the official.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/world/asia/15pstan.html?_r=1&em&oref=slogin

Will the military step in to the border fight or take orders from the ISI?