Pakistan: Musharraf has Left the Building · Global Voices
Teeth Maestro

Eight years, three hundred and five days ago a peaceful coup masterminded by a Pakistani Army General overtook the reigns of power from the then ruling corrupt leader Nawaz Sharif. It was then the promise of a new tomorrow; it was then a  romantic walk towards the faint vision labeled as the ‘enlightened moderation’ and definitely a step towards the ridding society of a plague called corruption. Pakistanis celebrated then, but very soon people realized that this blessing had slowly grown into an unwanted plague and the stay had become an unwelcome dictatorship.  After many moons of tyranny, yesterday marked the end of a reign of power barely 60 days shy of nine years, Pakistan turns over a new leaf.
It seemed to be a normal day for Pakistan but it turned into a roller coaster of adrenaline pumping and rumor mongering session for its citizens as news started to flow. For the people it was one rumor after another flooding from TV newscasters to SMS's and even emails; it was as if the fate of Pakistan were to be decided by each other. Deadpan Thoughts quite easily summarizes the roller coaster of rumors in one sentence saying “The phone beeps – Mushy’s being impeached..go put on GEO [a TV channel]..NOW“.  Some had us believing that this outgoing chap would go down fighting while some on the other hand conspired for the restoration of judiciary as his last vengeance but in the end it fizzled out to be a valiant outgoing speech, throwing in the towel before his tearful adios which Siam's Blog shares ‘A grim-faced Musharraf backed by Pakistani flags and a portrait of the country's founder’ to say “I leave my future in the hands of people.”
Pervez Musharraf – Image credit: World Economic Forum Photostream in Flickr and used under a creative commons license
The tearful good bye on the 18th of August by Musharraf came barely four days after the celebrations of the 61st Independence Day. Pakistan gingerly marks the end of a long nine year dynasty. His concluding remarks were mostly a walk back into history as penned down by The Pakistani Spectator, which was just to highlight his services for the people and for the country.
Pakistani bloggers reacted with mixed feelings, on one hand some celebrated Musharraf by chiming in with the ‘For he is a Jolly Good Fellow’ tune, while some faithfuls were quick to lend him a standing ovation but most cautiously celebrated the end of a dictatorship. Sarcastically Yeah That too had a few words to share, Ammar wrote about how the new  ‘Cat Fight’ is now about to begin, Chowrangi talks about Pakistan's future after Musharraf, Psychotic Discourses sheds light on the new form of Demon-cracy, MB confuses us with the talk about circle of circuses.
The immediate question that remains lurking is whether Musharraf is allowed to seek asylum outside of Pakistan or will he be put to trial for the charges alleged against him. Its definitely a tough juncture for Pakistan with a lot at stake.
One does wonder what next, wherein lies a huge mixture of political wannabes eying for the top slot, though the onus of pulling the country out of the mess lies squarely on the shoulder of Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, both unelected politicians entrusted with the faith of a nation to hopefully pull this country out of the mess it now finds itself in.