Mr Musharraf denied being an enemy of democracy

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who is facing impeachment by parliament, says he will resign.

The charges against the president include violation of the constitution and gross misconduct.

Mr Musharraf said he was confident that the charges against him would not stand but that this was not the time for more confrontation in Pakistan.

He has been one of the United States’ strongest allies in its war against Islamist extremism.

Truth and lies

Mr Musharraf said that when he took over in a military coup in 1999, Pakistan was going to be declared a failed state and faced great economic challenges.

He said that “false allegations were made against me” by people who “tried to turn the truth into lies”.

Dressed soberly in a dark suit and tie, he then started a long defence of the country’s economic record, detailing the progress he said it had made under his rule.

He said the problems Pakistan faced could be solved if people worked together and believed in themselves.

Mr Musharraf decided to address the nation as ministers warned over the weekend that impeachment proceedings against him could begin as early as Tuesday of this week.

Mr Musharraf, the former army chief and a key ally in Washington’s war on terror, came to power in a bloodless coup in 1999.

He was forced to give up control of the armed forces last year.

The president’s public standing suffered a huge setback in 2007 when he sacked Pakistan’s chief justice and nearly 60 judges to prevent them from overturning his re-election as president.