ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — The resignation of President Pervez Musharraf will force Pakistan's untested new civilian government to confront a dizzying array of problems, chief among them an intensifying battle against Islamic insurgents in the nation's long-lawless tribal areas.
Musharraf's departure Monday, greeted with near-delirious rejoicing in the streets of Pakistani cities, also opens the door to a potentially debilitating power struggle within the country's fragile ruling coalition, which was bound together mainly by its anti-Musharraf stance.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan, perhaps the most important yet most troubled U.S. ally in the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, enters an uncertain new era with the departure of Musharraf, who stepped down hours before a parliamentary session that was to have been a prelude to impeachment proceedings over his alleged constitutional violations.
Bush administration officials had kind words Monday for the departing president, whom they had continued to support publicly long after the Pakistani public grew disenchanted with him. Musharraf, said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, "has been a friend to the United States and one of the world's most committed partners in the war against terrorism and extremism."
Lately, though, his American patrons had made clear their own growing disenchantment as billions of dollars in military aid yielded few visible results in the effort against militants. After having placed so much faith in Musharraf, the administration has recently been trying to cultivate a much broader range of relationships in Pakistan -- with civilian politicians, military leaders and intelligence officers.
After months of posturing and saber rattling by Musharraf and his political foes and days of tense back-channel negotiations, the end for the 65-year-old president was astonishingly swift.
In the span of a few hours, Musharraf delivered his resignation speech for the cameras, saluted a high-stepping honor guard and climbed into a shiny black limousine, leaving the presidential palace for perhaps the last time.
The competition to succeed him could prove bitter and divisive.
As stipulated by the constitution, the chairman of the Senate, Mohammedmian Soomro, immediately took over as acting president. A new president is to be selected by lawmakers within 30 days, and the choice may be far from unanimous.
