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Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf declared his resignation from his post on Monday. Meanwhile Senate Chairman Mohd Mian Soomro will take over as Acting President.

Ending his nine-year reign since 1999, Musharraf said, “For the sake of the nation and people, I’m resigning. I don’t want anything from anybody. I’m not vindictive. Let the people be the judges. Let them do justice. I’m going with the belief that I have done everything for the nation with honesty.”

While addressing to nation Musharraf said, “I’m worried Pakistan is going down abyss rapidly, poor people are being affected.” Quoting recent opinion polls, Musharraf said that 80% of the population wanted him to stay.

“But I’m resigning so that there should be no more uncertainty in Pakistan,” he added.

Musharraf resigned in wake of a humiliating impeachment move, but his tenure was in a state of decline ever since he imposed emergency to pre-empt a judicial ruling on his October 2007 re-election, revoked the measure and quit as army chief under intense international and domestic pressure, entering uncharted waters as a civilian president.

“I may win or lose impeachment, but the people, the nation will definitely lose. I love Pakistan. I’m ready to give my life for the nation. I will never do anything that puts nation in the peril.” He said.

Musharraf recalled the days of his time in power. He talked about the GDP which was at 7% as late as December 2007 and that Pakistan was rated high by international rating agencies. But over the past eight months, the economy has begun a downslide, with foreign exchange reserves, stock exchange, currency rates falling. Prices of all essential commodities have also increased, he added.

Worried and emotional Musharraf said, “When I took over Pakistan’s reign in 1999, the country was in tatters. It was set to be declared a terrorist state. I have worked hard for last eight years and turned challenges into opportunities. I am proud I have kept Pakistan intact.”

During his farewell, Musharraf inspected the guard of honor presented by a tri-services contingent on the forecourt of the Presidency. A military band played martial tunes during the brief ceremony.

Musharraf then shook hands with members of his staff at the Presidency before leaving the imposing building in the heart of Islamabad for the last time. He then drove to his camp office in the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Finally before leaving, Musharraf said, “I thank the defence forces for their loyalty and also the people of Pakistan for the love they bestowed on me. I’m a common man, part of the middle class. I know their difficulties. I hope the government looks into it.”

He prayed for his nation. He called upon ‘Allah’ to keep his Pakistan safe and solve the problems of its people. He ended his words saying, “Pakistan Khuda Hafiz.”

There are rumors that Musharraf might go in exile. Reports also suggested that a Saudi plane is on a standby at the Rawalpindi airport, fuelling speculation that Musharraf might fly to Saudi Arabia after his address to seek asylum in the Islamic Kingdom.

Tags: Musharraf, Pakistan, Parvej Musharraf, President, Resignation

After the Left parties have withdrawn support to the Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government President Pratibha Patil has asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to meet her on Thursday.

BJP demanded that the government be asked to prove its majority within a week and in wake of these political crises, Singh who is in Japan for the G-8 summit is asked by Patil to meet her. He will be back past midnight.

Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh and its Parliamentary party leader Ramgopal Yadav also met the President and gave a fresh letter of support of 39 of its MPs to the government.

Earlier in the day, top leaders of CPM, CPI, Forward Bloc and RSP met President Pratibha Patil at Rashtrapati Bhavan and submitted a list of 60 Members of Parliament and handed over separate letters withdrawing their support to the government. They also submitted a joint communication asking her to “direct the Prime Minister to seek a vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha immediately”.

Lok Sabha has a total of 543 members. SP, PDP and some independents are supporting the government and UPA hopes to get 272 votes for a simple majority in the Lok Sabha.

Ajit Singh-led RLD, JD(S) headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, Mamta Bannerjee’s Trinamul Congress and TRS come in the “undecided” category but have given enough hints of backing the government in a trust vote.

There are clouds of worries in the Indian political ring. There is a curiosity among all regarding government’s survival? Now there are uncertainties whether the government will able to prove a vote of confidence within a week and will retain its power or will it fall??

Tags: Congress, G-8, India, JD, Manmohan Singh, MM Singh, PM, Pratibha Patil, President, RLD, SP, TMC, UPA

In protest against President Pratibha Patil`s five-days visit to Jammu and Kashmir, Shops and business establishments in the state remained closed on Saturday after a shutdown call is issued by hard-line faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC).

President Patil is visiting the state during her five day tour and meets soldiers and officers of the army in forward areas on Friday.

Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the Chairman of the APHC, had termed Patil’s visit “a deep rooted conspiracy to mislead the international community.” Geelani objected on Patil’s visit to “a disputed territory” accompanied by India’s military might.

“Geelani had called for this shutdown because the President is here. They should understand that Kashmir is still a disputed area. Since they are coming here like this with military force,” said Imran, a resident.

Addressing the troops at Baramulla, Patil congratulated them for performing their duties along the Line of Control (LoC) with alertness, dedication and bravery.

This is the first visit by President Patil to J-K After assuming the highest office in the country. She will return to New Delhi on June 1. From Jammu she will travel to Himachal Pradesh also to participate in official functions.

During her visit she is expected to go Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar to deliver the convocation address. She is also scheduled to inaugurate the Institute of Kashmir Studies at Kashmir University in Srinagar.

On Sunday, President Patil is also expected to inaugurate the university complex at Bhadarwah.

Tags: Gilani, India, Jammu, JnK, Kashmir, President

In an interview US President George Bush claimed that “another attack on the United States” is his worst worry.

Bush was concerned about the person who is going to win the presidential elections in November. He is worried and concerned that if Democrat won the presidential elections and withdrew troops prematurely from Iraq, then it could lead to another attack on US and from this he is too much worrying.

He also quoted that he was disappointed in “flawed intelligence” before the Iraq war. Bush also said that he gave up playing golf in 2003 for the respect for US soldiers killed in the Iraq war. The war is going on from last five years.

“I didn’t want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf,” Bush further said. “I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal.”

When some one asked Bush whether he felt he had been misled about Iraq as he made the decision to go to war. “`Misled’ is a strong word,” he said. “Not only our intelligence community, but intelligence communities all across the world shared the same assessment. And so I was disappointed to see how flawed our intelligence was.”

“Do I think somebody lied to me? No, I don’t. I think it was just, you know, they analyzed the situation and came up with the wrong conclusion,” Bush added.

Tags: Bush, Iraq, President, US, War

International Cricket Council on Friday asked the chief Executive Malcolm Speed to go on paid leave from April 30 till July following rumors of his reported rift with President Ray Mali.

“The ICC president, Ray Mali, and the CEO Speed have agreed that Malcolm Speed will be on paid leave from April 30 until the end of his contract term on July 4 2008,” an ICC statement from its president-elect David Morgan said.

According to Morgan, “This … is the result of a fundamental breakdown in the relationship between the CEO and a number of board members, including the President, over a variety of issues that include Zimbabwe.”

David Richardson, the ICC General Manager will be the interim CEO until Speed`s replacement while Haroon Lorgat will assume the role of full time CEO at the ICC`s annual conference at the beginning of July.

Speed has served as the ICC`s CEO since July 2001 and is only the second person to have filled the role in the organization`s 99-year history. He succeeded David Richards, who was CEO from 1993 to 2001.

Speed was also involved in some strained issues involving India when he criticized the track prepared for the third and final cricket Test between India and South Africa at the Green Park stadium in Kanpur. He had sought an explanation from the BCCI and made his relations sour with some top officials of BCCI regarding the issue.

No further comments on this issue are expected from ICC till the ICC president-elect David Morgan addresses a press conference on Saturday.

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Tags: CEO, ICC, President, Speed

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dismissed all the possibilities of bio-production fuel from food grains in India saying that country would not follow Brazil to use sugar for bio-fuel production. Currently India is facing an unprecedented inflation and shortage of food grains. Concerned on this issue, Prime Minister asked his government not to use food grains for the production of bio-fuel in India as it will definitely enhance inflation crisis.

According to Vilasrao Muttemwar, the minister for non-conventional energy, who is accompanying President Pratibha Patil on her 3-nation tour to Brazil, Mexico and Chile, “The prime minister is very particular that we should not use food grains for producing ethanol or any bio-fuel even if we are facing energy crunch. We cannot afford that.”

Pime Minister asked to use alternative sources of bio-fuel production.

“He has also made it clear that we will grow the (bio-fuel producing) plants (like Jatroba) in waste lands and we should ensure that there would not be any diversification from the traditional cultivation,” Vilasrao said, adding that the country has around 35 million hectares waste land that can be used for cultivation of such plants.

“But how can a country like India where a section of its large population still faces shortage for food grains, can use food grains for the production of fuel? We promote bio-fuels made of plants like Jatropha and energy out of indigenous natural resources,” the official said.

There has been a concern in the world about the increasing usage of food products to create the fuel that led to a food grain shortage. India and Brazil both imports 80 percent fuel. Like Brazil, India also needs to use alternative sources of fuel to level its import from other countries. India, the second biggest producer of sugar after Brazil, mandated in 2003 that nine of its states add a five percent ethanol mix to petrol.

Eighty percent of two million cars made in Brazil have flexi-fuel engines and the country has reduced its requirement of petrol sustainability since then. It has also emerged as the lowest cost producer and leading global exporter of fuel ethanol. Ethanol now makes more than 20 percent of Brazil’s transport fuel market, while the use of alternative fuels in the rest of the world is a scant one percent.

The government has proposed to constitute a bio-fuel board to formulate and implement a comprehensive plan for the production of alternative energy sources.

“The sugar producing states use 10 percent ethanol in the fuel,” Vilasrao Muttemwar, minister of non-conventional energy, told IANS.

The usage of ethanol, which releases less carbon dioxide than fossil fuels, helps to reduce the pollution in the air.

Economists have raised concern that the US move to use maize in the production of the ethanol was one of the reasons behind the current food crisis in the world.

President Patil has also shown his concern over the issue saying, “This is a matter of concern. Experts from both the countries will come together to discuss the matter.”

When asked whether India will seek Brazil’s cooperation in producing ethanol from sugar, Patil said: “That is one point of discussion.”

Tags: Bio Fuel, Brazil, food grains, India, Manmohan Singh, MM Singh, PM, Pratibha Patil, President

President Pratibha Patil will begin her first foreign visit to Latin American nations on Saturday as Indian President since July 2007. She will visit Brazil, Chile and Mexico during two weeks of her upcoming three-nation tour.

Patil, the first woman president of India, is expected to meet Brazilian President Lula da Silva, Mexican President Felipe De Jesus Calderon Hinojosa and President Michelle Bachelet of Chile during her 12-day visit to strengthen India’s growing trade ties with these countries.

Brazilian President Lula has expressed happiness that India’s first woman president has chosen his country for her first visit abroad. According to Lula, the visit “reflected the desire of the two countries to continue their dialogue at the highest political level with the objective of consolidating and diversifying their strategic partnership.”

She will begin her official visit to Brazil from Sao Paulo, where she will arrive April 13 where she will meet a business delegation of the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paolo (FIESP) and the National Confederation of Industry (CNI). She will also address the Indian community in Sao Paulo. Her schedule also includes visit to Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia.

After Brazil she will visit Mexico City and Guadalajara province during her four stay there. On April 20, she will arrive in Santiago for two days and expected to address the students and academicians in the University of Chile.

Before coming back to India on April 23 she will stay in Cape Town.

Tags: India, Pratibha Patil, President