Musharraf retires as Pak army chief

Full Article

This was a very interesting BIG news to watch last night. I thought that Mush will never take off his uniform, and I sat glued to the TV to watch the direct telecast of Mush passing the baton to Kayani - they were at a very plain, but beautiful location in Rawalpindi. As I heard his very emotional speech, I started thinking what must be going on in his mind to give up something he did for the past 45 years and loved so much! He was extremely gracious, and a little stiff, when he actually handed over the baton at the ceremony. But may be he was thinking, 'oh well, some day I had to do it, now is the time..' or may be about the next step in his big plan to bring back stability in Pak. May be he was just thinking about his experiences of several years in the army....Whether he was thinking (or not), for sure I believe that he is someone who is extremely passionate about his country - he wants to sincerely take Pak on a path of sustainable growth and success. And puts his country above himself! Thats a rare quality....

Mush stopped Bhutto from taking out a rally and kept her in house arrest recently. I think he did the right thing! Bhutto, apparently, didn't learn anything from the bomb blasts at a big rally earlier that killed 100-200 innocent people/her supporters. I believe Mush stopped from that happening again and may be even saved Bhutto's life...

In hard circumstances like the ones Mush faces, whether its pressures from the US, or from within his country, it sometimes does require a leader just like him to make the right decisions. He is the only one who can ban people like Nawaz Sharif/Bhutto from entering the country, or prevent big rallies that can be potentially dangerous.

Nobody knows how this change will affect Pak or, for that matter, India because Mush, as non-army President, will still be in a very powerful position in Pak. In the short term though emergency in Pak will be lifted very soon. And we will also see Mush in plain clothes. May be he will have dozens of white shirts in his wardrobe now :)...