Islamabad: Pakistani president, retired general Pervez Musharraf, announced his decision to resign in a televised address to the nation this afternoon. His resignation comes after a threat of impeachment from the country's national and state legislatures. It also comes nine years after he seized power  in a bloodless coup in 1999.

The two biggest victims of the Pakistan Army's whimsical ways of seizing power and ruling the country, the Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (N), are today part of a coalition that rules the country. Both the parties demanded his resignation, threatening to launch impeachment proceedings if he failed to oblige.

With Gen Musharraf showing no inclinations to resign, one state legislature after another began passing resolutions in favour of impeachment compelling the general to read the writing on the wall.

If launched, the impeachment proceedings would have been the first in the 61-year history of Pakistan. "After viewing the situation and consulting legal advisers and poltical allies, with their advice I have decided to resign," said Musharraf. "I leave my future in the hands of people," he announced.

Musharraf made a lengthy defence of his time in power and said, "Not a single charge in the impeachment can stand against me," Musharraf said. "No charge can be proved against me because I never did anything for myself, it was all for Pakistan."

He claimed that law and order now prevailed in the country, human rights and democracy had improved and that Pakistan was now an important country internationally. "On the map of the world, Pakistan is now an important country, by the grace of Allah," he said.

Musharraf's troubles began last year when when he tried to sideline the chief justice of the country's Supreme Court, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The chief justice was  responsible for passing a series of judgments that were perceived as going against general Musharraf's, and the army's, interests. His ouster of the chief justice saw a nation-wide agitation being launched against him with the country's lawyers taking to the streets.

Events snowballed through the months resulting in both the exiled prime ministers of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, returning to their homeland. Bhutto was assassinated soon thereafter. This  did not fail to prevent her party from returning to power, however, albeit in partnership with Sharif's party.

After overcoming problems within themselves, regarding the strategy to be adopted against the general, leaders of both the PPP and the PML (N), Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, announced their intention to impeach him on 7 August.

Apparently, on 18 August 2008 the general finally decided he could not play the waiting game forever.

Yet another coup in Pakistan has finally come to an end.

The army has ruled the country for more than half of its 61-year history.

Meanwhile, speculation is rife if Gen Musharraf is going to be granted sanctuary by Saudi Arabia or the United States. When queried, US secretary of state, Condoleeza Rice, provided a testy response.  "That's not an issue on the table, and I just want to keep our focus on what we must do with the democratic government of Pakistan," she said.