Musharraf Seeks Reconciliation Over Impeachment Plans
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, a key U.S. ally in the campaign against terrorism, sought reconciliation with the nation's ruling coalition, which has pledged to oust him through impeachment.
“Pakistan needs political stability to fight militancy and promote economic growth,'' the president said in a televised speech from Islamabad, during celebrations to mark Pakistan's Independence Day. “For political stability, I urge all to adopt a reconciliatory rather than confrontational approach.''
This was his first public appearance since the Pakistan Peoples Party-led alliance announced on Aug. 7 it would try to remove him.
By refusing to quit, Musharraf is set to become the first leader in Pakistan's 61-year history to face impeachment unless he invokes constitutional powers to dismiss the government. A prolonged battle for control may hamper efforts to combat terrorism and improve living standards for the nation's 163 million people as food prices surge.
Three out of Pakistan's four state assemblies passed resolutions this week asking the president to seek a confidence vote in parliament or face impeachment proceedings. The fourth assembly of the province of Baluchistan is expected to vote on the resolution on Aug. 15.
The National Assembly, or parliament's lower house, will start impeachment proceedings next week, Information Minister Sherry Rehman said Aug. 12. The four provincial assemblies, the National Assembly and the Senate form the electoral college of the president.
Parliamentary Numbers
Parliament may not have the numbers to impeach the president, said Suba Chandran, assistant director of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, a policy research group, in a telephone interview from New Delhi. “The impeachment will be more of a political statement.''
The army leadership will try for an understanding between the president and parliament, he said.
“It's not in the interest of the chief of the army staff or the military as an institution to let the former chief of army staff be impeached by parliament,'' Chandran said. Musharraf “may say he will go on his own by the end of year.''
Central Figure
Impeachment may remove a central figure in the “global war on terror'' that President George W fast cash instant payday advance. Bush launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S.
Pro-Musharraf parties were defeated in the Feb. 18 parliamentary elections, allowing the coalition to take power in March. The PPP-led government is supported by the Pakistan Muslim League faction of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The ruling alliance doesn't have the support of enough lawmakers to impeach Musharraf, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, the president of a faction of the Pakistan Muslim League formed six years ago to back Musharraf, said in an Aug. 10 news conference.
The coalition parties say they have more than the two-third majority, 295 of 442 votes in parliament's two chambers, required to remove Musharraf.
With the support of allies and independent lawmakers and defections from parties loyal to Musharraf, the coalition may muster 350 votes for Musharraf's ouster, Rehman has said.
The ruling alliance is preparing charges against Musharraf, which will be announced soon, Rehman said. Under the constitution, the president has the right to reply to those charges before lawmakers vote to remove him.
Constitutional Breach
PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari, in a news conference with Sharif Aug. 7, said the president breached the constitution with his 1999 coup, his firing of senior judges who questioned the legitimacy of his presidency and the declaration of a state of emergency in November.
Sharif, ousted in Musharraf's 1999 coup, and Zardari have been at odds over how to oppose the president, causing a split in the coalition after ministers from Sharif's party withdrew from the Cabinet in May. Ministers from Sharif's party returned to the Cabinet this week.
Since the 65-year-old former general relinquished control of the army in November, the military has shied away from politics, ordering officers to avoid contact with candidates in the February elections that put the president's opponents in control of parliament.
Since January, the government has faced criticism for a slowdown in economic growth, a widening budget deficit and an inability to rein in inflation running at a 30-year high. The rupee Aug. 13 dropped to record.