Musharraf’s Party Accepts Defeat

Pakistan appeared on Tuesday to be heading for a transition to an elected civilian government after President Pervez Musharraf told visiting United States senators that he accepted the resounding defeat of his party in elections and would work with a new Parliament.

Many Pakistanis expressed relief that the overwhelming victory of the two major moderate opposition political parties in the parliamentary elections on Monday signaled a change in direction after eight years of military rule under Mr. Musharraf, even though in the past the parties had rarely produced models of stable government.

NYTimes