Afghanistan’s government, a staunch ally of the United States, welcomed Musharraf’s resignation saying he was not “someone good for Afghanistan.” The government that it believes the situation in the region will improve dramatically now Musharraf is gone soon.

This is a somewhat surprising development; a lot of people believe that Pakistan could be much worse, especially when it comes to the war on terror.

However, the two countries have had a long and bloody rivalry with each other. Afghanistan accuses Pakistan’s secret service of being behind several terrorist attacks inside Afghanistan. Two examples are the assassination attempt on Afghani President Hamid Karzai in April of this year and the July bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital.

Musharraf was ‘an ally of the U.S. in words only,’ Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary told reporters. The Foreign Ministry spokesman added that  “Afghanistan wishes for a democratic and stable Pakistan, a government based on rules and laws.” 

India, meanwhile, is not happy with Musharraf’s resignation. Although he’s far from a popular president in India, Musharraf is generally credited with moving the peace process between his country and India forward. Now he has announced his resignation India can only hope he’s replaced by someone who wants to establish lasting peace between the two neighboring countries as well.

And so this part of the world is changing as well. When it rains, it pours. When it changes, it changes everywhere at the same time.