Musharraf will resign, diplomat confirms

LONDON: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is set to resign in exchange for immunity from prosecution, Pakistan's High Commissioner to Britain confirmed on Friday.

“From every quarter his friends - foreign friends as well as friends within Pakistan - have conveyed to him that it is best for him to resign and quit,” Wajid Shamsul Hasan told BBC Radio. 

“I believe he will resign and he should resign because that is the advice of his friends and that is, we're advised, the step he will take finally,” he added.  

Asked if the government will bring charges against Musharraf once he resigns, Hasan hinted at a deal, saying: “If he resigns gracefully then it could be a consideration to let him go.”  

“...Impeachment, if it is initiated, will lead to very serious consequences for him and will be very embarrassing for him as well.”

The high commissioner, who is close to the Pakistan Peoples Party that is the main partner in Pakistan's ruling coalition, said the army will not intervene in the process.

“The army is standing by the civil government and they are committed to upholding the constitution. They've seen what happens when they violate it.”

According to media reports in Britain, Musharraf will not be impeached or prosecuted and will try and stay on in retirement in his Islamabad farm. 

“The army does not want President Musharraf to be insulted and the generals want both of the president's demands to be met,” the Financial Times quoted an unnamed senior government official as saying on Thursday.