Musharraf faces impeachment

Islamabad: Pakistan's ruling coalition on Thursday said it would seek the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf and restore all judges deposed by him last year, cranking up pressure on the US-backed former general to resign.

The dramatic decision came in a joint communiqué read out at a crowded news conference by Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and widower of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Present with Zardari were the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) chief and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and representatives of two other coalition members, the Awami National Party and Jamiat Ulema Islami.

After three days of intensive talks during which differences threatened to derail the process, the two major coalition leaders finally arrived at a consensus, widely seen as a clear acceptance of what Sharif and his party had been demanding all along.

The assemblies of four provinces will pass resolutions demanding that Musharraf take a confidence vote from the parliament immediately as was committed by him before the Supreme Court. Simultaneously the coalition will initiate the impeachment process in parliament and the coalition leadership will present a charge sheet against Musharraf, the communiqué said.

Both Zardari and Sharif shrugged off a speculated pre-emptive strike by the beleaguered former army chief to dissolve parliament and the government. “It's not the time of 1980s and ‘90s, the scenario has undergone a transformation and no adventurer can now dare resist the will of the nation and the parliament,'' Sharif said.

Democratic right

Zardari said impeachment was the democratic right of the elected representatives of the nation who would complete the transition to genuine democracy. The PPP co-chairman said it would be up to the parliament whether to put Musharraf in the dock after impeachment.

Zardari said the February general elections gave a clear mandate in favour of democratic forces and “voted for change through the ouster of General Musharraf by defeating his King's party.'' The two leaders also said in their statement that Musharraf's economic policies had brought Pakistan to the brink of economic collapse.