Nishan-e-Imtiaz

Guests: Jane Perlez, The New York Times, in Islamabad, Pakistan, and Steve Cohen, Senior Fellow for Foreign Policy Studies, the Brookings Institution

Guest: Mira Kamdar, Bernard Schwartz Fellow at the Asia Society and the author of ‘Planet India: The Turbulent Rise of the Largest Democracy and the Future of Our World,’ and Shazeb Jillani, Editor, BBC’s Urdu service

Guest: M.J. Gohel, director of the Asia-Pacific Foundation, a London-based international affairs think tank

Yesterday Pakistani politicians and Western diplomats said that Pakistan’s President, Pervez Musharraf, is expected to resign in the next few days rather than face impeachment charges. The consequences of Musharraf’s departure remain to be seen. Will a stronger government emerge? Will the coalition government collapse with a presidential vacancy?

President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan ? whose political opponents are calling for him to face a vote of confidence or be impeached ? has urged national unity and reconciliation. In a televised speech to mark Pakistan’s Independence Day, Mr. Musharraf said all Pakistanis should put aside their differences and work to make the country strong.