By Muhammad Najeeb

"In the living rooms, in the coffee shops, it’s going to be the hottest topic for the next several weeks," said Farrukh Alam, president of the Canada-Pakistan Association in British Columbia, home to more than 20,000 Pakistanis.

Musharraf, 65, announced in a nationally televised speech that he was resigning as president in "the best interest of the country." He did not say if he planned to remain in Pakistan or go abroad — amid speculation that he might settle down in Saudi Arabia or Turkey.

Faced with a litany of charges including murder, a visibly subdued Musharraf said he wanted to avoid facing an impeachment Pakistan’s ruling coalition was planning to bring against him.

"It is not a time of individual bravado," he said in an emotional address delivered in Urdu. "Whether I win or lose the impeachment, this country will be defeated."

Alam said the Pakistani community in B.C. was not shocked by the news, adding most people were anticipating Musharraf’s demise early this week, whether through impeachment or resignation. "I don’t know if there is a jubilation in the community," he said. "Or if there is more of a concern now about the future stability of Pakistan."

Musharraf, who as the army chief seized power in October 1999 in a bloodless coup ousting the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, ruled the world’s second most populous Islamic nation for eight years, 10 months and six days. Only two other military rulers, Ayub Khan and Zia ul Haq, had presided over Pakistan’s destiny longer than him — with equally disastrous consequences.

A staunch backer of the Taliban in Afghanistan and separatists in Jammu and Kashmir, Musahrraf’s world started falling apart after 9/11. Forced by the U.S. to dump the Taliban, Musharraf ended up becoming the most valuable ally in the U.S. war on terror, angering Islamic groups in his country and abroad. In the process, he survived two assassination attempts.

This week, as Musharraf announced his decision to resign towards the end of his hour-long rambling speech, celebrations broke out across Pakistan. Besides political activists, even the middle class distributed sweets.

But even while departing, there was no love lost between Musharraf and the ruling coalition led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which was to originally have a deal with him before former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination in December changed the face of Pakistan’s turbulent politics.

While Musharraf blamed the current rulers repeatedly in his speech, insisting that an economy that he said was good only eight months ago was now in a bad shape, human rights activist Amina Ali said, "All dictators meet such a fate. He should not be spared for his misdeeds."

Ahsan Iqbal of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the political force most bitterly opposed to him, added, "He should face the courts and should be tried for abrogating the constitution and for his anti-democratic acts."

But in B.C., Canada-Pakistan Association president Alam said "going after" Musharraf now should not be a top priority for the ruling coalition. "If Musharraf’s done anything wrong, he should be brought to justice," he said.

"But if they’re just doing it for the sake of doing it, that is not helping the country move forward, it’s not helping the people or the future of Pakistan.

"Pakistan should set a policy now where honesty and the rule of law prevails."