Comment: After Musharraf

President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan has resigned - thereby saving his country's government the trouble of impeaching him while he was in office for offences against the constitution. It is a decision with momentous consequences for Western governments. Mr Musharraf was anything but a democrat yet he did relinquish control of the military last year and acquiesced in the election of the government which has now effectively deposed him. But for Britain, the most significant aspect of Mr Musharraf's time in office is that he threw his lot in with the West after 9/11, becoming the most crucial American ally in the region at considerable political cost.

It is impossible to overstate the importance of Pakistan when it comes to the war in Afghanistan. Pro-Taliban forces regularly cross from Afghanistan into eastern Pakistan, where they have abundant local support. Pakistan, internal politics apart, must now decide which way it will turn in the so-called war on terror. The outcome will be felt by British troops in Afghanistan and by the British government, struggling to contain Islamic extremism here.