Pakistani pres Musharraf to face impeachment, a fresh turmoil looms

The decision to prosecute Musharraf came after late-night discussions between Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, and Asif Zadari, husband of the late Benazir Bhutto and leader of the Pakistan People's party.

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Senior party officials told The Associated Press that Pakistan's ruling coalition will ask Musharraf to seek a confidence vote in Parliament or face impeachment. The formal announcement is expected later Thursday.

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The government had summoned the national assembly, or lower house of parliament, to sit on August 11 but it was not immediately known when any moves to start impeachment proceedings would begin, AFP quoted a party official as saying late on Wednesday.

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AFP reported a charge sheet on Musharraf's position and performance as president would be drawn up and submitted to parliament to be signed by at least half of all MPs in the coming days.

 

The speaker of the national assembly, or lower house of parliament, would then notify Musharraf and ask him to defend his position within seven to 15 days, it added.

 

The news puts an end to weeks of speculation over Musharraf's future. The president cancelled his planned trip to China for the opening of the Olympic games. He would be replaced by the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement.

 

Musharraf, a close ally of the Bush administration, woke up to banner headlines in the Pakistani press suggesting he would be impeached.

 

Impeachment proceedings would plunge Pakistan into a fresh crisis, as Musharraf, who until recently was head of the military and is thought to still enjoy its support, has repeatedly said he will not allow himself to be forced from office. The stock market slumped to its lowest level in two years on the news.

 

Elections in February brought to power Musharraf's opponents but he has clung on to the presidency, which he seized in a 1999 coup.

 

The coalition has threatened impeachment before. This time the threat appears more serious, thought the government may opt against such an incendiary move and instead try to pressure Musharraf to stand down voluntarily.

 

DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT?

Musharraf is close to the Bush administration because of help he has provided since 9/11 in the "war on terror". The White House, torn between wanting to see a strongman in place in the fragile country and promoting democracy, has praised him for giving up his post as head of the military and helping with the shift towards civilian rule.

 

The main US preoccupation in the region is the failure of Pakistan to clamp down on Taliban and al-Qaeda forces that regularly cross from its territory into Afghanistan to mount attacks.

 

The U.S. last month complained that "rotten" elements in the Pakistan intelligence service were aiding the Taliban. While the new civilian government tried to comply with US demands by bringing the intelligence service under its remit, the military, with the support of Musharraf, blocked the move.

 

Musharraf's advisers let it be known he is prepared to "use his constitutional powers" to stop impeachment. Under powers he gave himself, Musharraf can dismiss the parliament - which should, in theory, be followed by fresh elections.

 

Ahsan Iqbal, a senior member of Sharif's party, said Musharraf "might make such a commando attack on parliament. But we will meet it. Let this be the final round, let there be a final victory for democracy."

 

The coalition may have the numbers required for impeachment but it is tight. It would need a two-thirds majority in a joint sitting of both houses of parliament. The upper house, the senate, still has Musharraf supporters making up half its numbers. In the lower house, the coalition easily prevails.