After all General Pervez Musharraf has now bowed down before the people's decision. It is a victory for the people of Pakistan. Pakistani nation needs to be united to get rid from all the barbaric and ill- policies of the out-going dictator.

If present policies are not changed, it is useless whether Musharraf was there or not. People need to breathe now.

ASHRAF SIDDIQUI

Doha, Qatar

(II)

Dispassionately considering the state of affairs prevailing in Pakistan now, it is frightening to think of the scenario post Musharraf's resignation. The coalition politics are the same every where. What reason has Nawaz Sharif, an ambitious politician, to stick to the ruling coalition after the removal of President Musharraf and reinstatement of dismissed judges?

Break up of the coalition is certainly going to plunge Pakistan into an abyss, the repercussions whereof will be felt all over the world but more so in its neighbourhood.

The conduct of unbridled Al Qaeda, Taliban, terrorists, fundamentalists, Jihadis and Mujahideen, besides selfish politicians, will create another fertile ground for the military to take over before Pakistan either plunges into civil strife or break up. It appears that the fate of Pakistan is destined in shared tenures between civil and military rule.

COL. (RETD) RAM GULRAJANI

Chennai

(III)

True to form, Musharraf's resignation speech was graceless and self-serving. It was notable for its omissions

1. No mention of Lal Masjid;

2. No mention of emergency;

3. No mention of deposed judges;

4. No mention of rigging of elections at al levels up to 2007; and, finally

5. No mention of the USA.

ASAF ALI SHAH

Lahore

(IV)

History is under making. Musharraf decided to leave and resign. Most of people are happy over his departure but he also gets votes of sympathy from his last speech.

May God bless Pakistan.

HASAN SHABBIR

Via email|

(V)

It is too depressing to watch this man go. Pakistan has structural programs when it comes to the economy; these won't get resolved overnight. This was the first man at the helm of affairs who began to do something about it, and about internal security. These are the two things that mattered most to me as a Pakistani. I decided to return home 18 years ago when I graduated from college in the USA, literally two days after my last semester. I had hoped to make a difference. It did not happen.

Now, with Musharraf gone, there appears little to no hope of any repsite for this country. Like many who have already left, I am going to leave within a month. Just can't hack it anymore.

FAHEEM

Via email

(VI)

The hot topic of discussion in every social gathering about Pervez Musharraf's future innundates newspapers which are also full of news items and readers' letters. Supporters of the resignation have brainwashed people in their favour, vociferously demanding for Musharraf to be punished to deter generals from grabbing power and sabotaging democracy in future times.

I am neither a supporter of Musharraf nor of Zardari or Nawaz. I belong to a very small group of people who are not carried away by the hype created by Nawaz Sharif and his PML(N) cohorts, but try to analyze the problem calmly and without bias.

First of all, I would like to point out that none of the generals, right from Ayub down to Musharraf, grabbed power on their own. They were all insisted, lured and tempted by the civilians. Ayub was invited by Iskandar Mirza, Zia by the politicians agitating against Bhutto and Musharraf as a consequence of Nawaz Sharif's misadventure of trying to hijack and crash the plane just to kill Musharraf.

Truly speaking, the coup was not carried out by Musharraf but by the then Corps Commander of Rawalpindi when Musharraf was in the plane, praying for his own and the rest of the passengers' safe landing. I ask the opponents of Musharraf, and Pakistanis at large, to ponder honestly, without prejudice and bias, whether Nawaz Sharif is himself not guilty of a very serious crime that would have resulted in death of about two hundred passengers travelling on that plane, just to kill and get rid of Musharraf.

In fact the two main players in this drama, crying hoarse for the blood of Musharraf, are themselves guilty of much more serious crimes than any by Musharraf.

In fact, the main objective behind Musharraf's resignation is neither to strengthen democracy, nor to benefit the people of Pakistan. It is being done as a personal vengeance for the ignominy he had to suffer of his own misdeed. The impeachment, trial or punishment, instead of doing any good to the people of Pakistan and strengthening democracy, will only introduce a new evil of vendetta to the politics of Pakistan. And the people and democracy will continue to suffer as now, may be more.

It will not be out of place to mention what, over 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ (A.S.) had said something to the effect that “let him throw the first stone who has never committed a sin”.

S NAQI HASAN

Lahore

(VII)

In his last address to the nation as President, Pervez Musharraf particularly mentioned a sharp decline in the value of Rupee and that of the Stock Exchange 100 Index since the new coalition government took over.

However, we witnessed just the opposite reaction as, with the announcement of his resignation, the Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index jumped by 460 points and the value of Rupee jumped by 1.20. It goes to prove that the adverse affect on the country's economy that was seen in the past few months was due to Pervez Musharraf who refused to step down and let the new coalition government function freely.

There is a lesson for the new government also, who have to deliver to the nation what all that was promised by them in their respective election manifestos, particularly what has been promised by them recently.

The next important announcement that should come from the coalition government should be the restoration of the judges who refused to take oath under the CPO.

ABDUL QAYUM KHAN

Karachi