Pakistani President Musharraf faces impeachment

[Mike Baker]

LINK

Pakistani President Musharraf faces impeachment
Updated Thu. Aug. 7 2008 10:36 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Pakistan's ruling coalition is moving to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, officials confirmed Thursday.

The decision was announced following two days of talks between the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the PML-N -- the two parties that defeated Musharraf's party in February parliamentary elections.

The PPP's Asif Ali Zardari said Thursday that the decision was "good news for democracy" in Pakistan.

According to Pakistan's constitution, a ruling president could be ousted if an impeachment motion is passed with a two-thirds majority support of lawmakers in both houses of Parliament.

The coalition has a strong majority in the National Assembly but Musharraf's supporters do hold about half of the seats in the Senate.

Musharraf loyalists claim the coalition will struggle to attain the support needed to pass the motion. However, Zardari was confident Thursday saying the coalition was hoping "that 90 percent of the lawmakers will support us."

"The coalition... decided that it will immediately initiate impeachment proceedings. The coalition leadership will present a charge sheet against Gen. Musharraf," Zardari told reporters Thursday.

Musharraf, a strong U.S. ally, has so far resisted calls to step down as president, although he did hand over power of the army last year.

"The incompetence and the failure of his (Musharraf) policies has thrown the country into the worst power shortage in its history. His policies have weakened the federation and eroded the trust of the nation in national institutions," Zardari said.

The PPP, once led by slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and the PML-N joined together in March and have since been debating Musharraf's future and how to reinstate judges he had removed.

More on Link.

I wonder what this may cause to our troops in Afghanistan, if any.

-Dead

 

[jollyjacktar]

They reported on CBC radio this morning as I was coming in that he as said he will resign in order to save the country from the discord an impeachment would cause.  I guess the support such as it was will really drop for our side now.

 

[Blackadder1916]

Going . . . Going . . . Gone!

Pervez Musharraf resigns as Pakistani President

Jeremy Page and Zahid Hussain, in Islamabad  From Times Online August 18, 2008

Pervez Musharraf, a key Muslim ally in the US-led War on Terror, resigned as President of Pakistan today to avoid impeachment by a hostile parliament, nine years after he seized power in a bloodless coup.

Mr Musharraf, who stepped down as army chief last year, announced his resignation in a rambling and sometimes emotional one-hour address to the nation following a dramatic slump in his popularity over the last 18 months.

The ruling coalition, which trounced his allies in a parliamentary election in February, had drawn up impeachment charges yesterday and warned him that it would present them to parliament this week if he did not resign.

"After consultations with legal advisers and close political supporters and on their advice, I'm taking the decision of resigning," Mr Musharraf said in his address.

"My resignation will go to the speaker of the National Assembly today,” he said, looking sombre in a dark suit and tie.

“I don't want anything from anybody. I have no interest. I leave my future in the hands of the nation and people."

The announcement was met with relief and jubilation in many parts of Pakistan, where Mr Musharraf is widely disliked because of his co-operation with the United States in fighting al-Qaeda and Taleban militants on the border with Afghanistan.

The powerful military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 61-year history, is unlikely to intervene as its new chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, has vowed to stay out of politics.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of the late Benazir Bhutto, hailed Mr Musharraf’s departure as a revenge for democracy after the assassination of his mother, a former Prime Minister and head of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

"After the martyrdom of my mother I said that democracy was the best revenge - and today it was proved true," said Bilawal, 19, who is a student at the University of Oxford and co-chairman of the PPP.

"Someone from the Pakistan People's Party would be the next president of Pakistan but I don't know who that would be," he told Pakistan's Geo television at Karachi airport after flying in from Dubai.

Under Pakistan’s constitution, Muhammad Mian Soomro, the 57-year-old head of the Senate, becomes acting president until a new one is elected.

Mr Musharraf's resignation brings an end to the political standoff that began when he tried to dismiss the chief justice in March last year, and raises hopes that the new government can resolve its dispute over how to reverse many of his actions.

But it deprives the West of its most important partner in the campaign against Islamic extremism and leaves a power vacuum at the helm of a mostly Muslim country of 165 million people, which sits right next to Afghanistan.

The coalition government, led by the PPP, is likely to have granted Mr Musharraf immunity from prosecution in backroom negotiations over the last few days, according to diplomats and political analysts.

However, it is still unclear whether he will be allowed to stay in Pakistan, as he wants, or sent into exile - possibly in Saudi Arabia, the United States, Britain or Turkey, where he spent some of his childhood.

Saudi, American and British officials have visited Pakistan to discuss his fate in the last few days, but none have publicly offered him refuge and Washington has said asylum is “not on the table”.

The government’s first expected move is to fulfill its promise to reinstate the judges whom Mr Musharraf dismissed last year after imposing emergency rule to ensure his re-election as president.

The PPP must then agree with the Pakistan Muslim League (N), its main coalition partner, whether to maintain or dilute the president’s current powers to dismiss parliament and command the armed forces.

There is talk that Asif Ali Zardari, Ms Bhutto’s widower and acting head of the PPP, wants the job – and many of those powers – for himself, or even his sister.

But Mr Sharif, the former Prime Minister who was ousted in the 1999 coup and now leads the PML (N), is unlikely to agree to that as well as the amnesty for Mr Musharraf.

Only after that issue is resolved can the new government call an election for a new president, who is chosen by the national parliament and the four provincial legislatures under Pakistan’s constitution.

Mr Musharraf used his address to defend his political and economic record, and said he was only resigning to avoid an impeachement process that he said would harm the nation’s interests.

"Whether I win or lose, the nation must lose," he said. "The honour and dignity of the country will be affected and, in my view, the honour of the office of president will also be affected."

The political wrangling of the last 18 months has contributed to a slump in Pakistan’s financial markets, a sudden rise in inflation, and growing militancy in the lawless northern tribal areas.

“I pray the government stops this down-sliding and take the country out of this crisis,” Mr Musharraf said

 

[armyca08]

I hope the country doesn't decsend into Civil war, especially with the military staying neutral in the political infighting - we can only hope it is not another Lebanon.

I'm guessing the US isn't keen on a people's party (communists - or centre left islamists) (PPPP) taking over the country though.

see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_International

 

[geo]

Pakistani military & neutral ... in one sentence.... something of an oxymoron if you ask me.  The pakistani military has been neck deep in the running of Pakistan ever since it became an independant state (1956)
Iskandar Mirza 56-58  Major General (3 yrs)
Muhammad Ayub Khan 58-69 Field Marshal (11 yrs)
Yahya Khan 69-71  Lieutenant General  (3 yrs)
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq 78-88  General & CDS (10 yrs)
Pervez Musharaf 01-08 General & CDS (8 yrs)
35 yrs out of 52 yrs... 

Yeah - the Pakistani military knows how to stay neutral.... NOT!

 

[tomahawk6]

While the military in the third world is often seen as power hungry,the army actually fulfills the function as protector of the state.When the civilian leadership has been inept,corrupt or seen as a threat to "democracy" the army steps in. In many of these countries the military provides stability that the people respect.Look at the ROK,Thailand,Turkey and Pakistan all have had a history of intervening in politics.All after a period of time have allowed the government to return to civilian control.Its something I hope our military would do if faced with a civilian leadership that had torn up the Constitution and decided to rule as a dictatorship.Carter in 79 advised the Iranian military to not block Khomeini's return and the top leadership were executed and the Ltc/Col's went to prison.

In the case of Pakistan I think the west erred in forcing Bhuto's return. Now that her Party has returned to power we shall see what they do.They seem more intent on payback then facing the AQ/Taliban threat. I do not think the civilian government has the stones to deal effectively with the islamist threat and that means either the Army takes power again or the radicals take power.Neither is appealing but which is worse ?

 

[Blackadder1916]

Pakistani military & neutral ... in one sentence.... something of an oxymoron if you ask me.  The pakistani military has been neck deep in the running of Pakistan ever since it became an independant state (1956)
Iskandar Mirza 56-58  Major General (3 yrs)
. . .

Pakistan became an independent sovereign state in 1947 (the Dominion of Pakistan with the same head of state as Canada, though their Governor General had much more real executive power) and became a republic in 1956. 

Though Mirza nominally held the rank of Major General, he is more considered a civil servant and politician.  He served only a few years in the (British) Indian Army before being accepted into the (British) Indian Political Service eventually rising to high position in the (British Indian) Ministry of Defence.  With the independence of Pakistan he became its first Defence Secretary and moved on to be its last Governor General and its first (legally elected) President.  However he did declare martial law and set the stage for Ayub Khan's coup d'etat.

But yes, it should not be expected that the Pakistan military will keep its nose out of the running of that country.  However, it also should not be expected that the next military coup d'etat over there will be as (relatively) bloodless as the previous ones.

 

[geo]

Sorry... meant as the republic state that it is today.

 

[time expired]

The reason that the military has always been in running the country
for most of its existence is the simple fact that it is the only functioning
institution in the country.Everything else is dysfunctional and  deeply
mired in corruption,IMHO we are in for a period of chaos and violence
that will end in the military once again taking over.Maybe this time
when the military calm things down we in the west will not be so quick
to condemn them for their "human rights" abuses
                                              Regards
PS And remember the military are the only ones who can keep the
nukes out of the hands of the terrorists.

 

[tomahawk6]

The government is close to collapse.The two main parties are arguing over the presidency - go figure.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080824/ap_on_re_as/pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's ruling coalition teetered on the brink of collapse as the two main partners squabbled over a successor to ousted President Pervez Musharraf.


Former Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif, who heads the junior partner in the coalition, demanded the dominant Pakistan People's Party slash the president's powers before he would support its candidate.

Asif Ali Zardari, head of the PPP and widower of the party's assassinated leader Benazir Bhutto, agreed Saturday to run for the presidency.

Sharif also pushed forward the deadline for restoration of dozens of judges sacked by Musharraf — another key issue dividing the two main parties since they forced the president from power less than a week ago.

Still pressure was building for the two sides to end differences that appeared increasingly irreconcilable.

A Sharif aide, Pervez Rasheed, told The Associated Press on Sunday that "general opinion" in his party favored an exit from the coalition and that party leaders would meet on Monday to decide.

One of those leaders, Javed Hashmi, said Sunday that he was willing to run in the Sept. 6 election to succeed Musharraf if his party asks him to.

Presidential elections by parliament were set for Sept. 6 and the political infighting is a distraction from militant violence flaring in the volatile northwest, where 37 insurgents were killed Saturday in retaliation for a string of deadly suicide bombings.

Though Zardari is a longtime Musharraf critic, he would likely continue the former general's support for the U.S.-led war against terrorism.

But Zardari's climb to power would dismay many in this nation of 160 million who view him as a symbol of corruption that tainted its last experiment with civilian rule in the 1990s.

He won the nickname "Mr. 10 Percent" for alleged graft during his wife's turns as prime minister.

Despite the backing of the PPP, his election is far from certain.

Sharif, who heads the second-largest party in parliament, was one of Bhutto's bitter rivals and has been threatening to bolt in a struggle over power.

He demanded after meeting with Zardiri's lieutenants Saturday that the PPP agree to sharply reduce the powers of the new president before he'd support their candidate.

Sharif wants the head of state to be deprived of the constitutional right to dissolve parliament or to appoint chiefs of the armed forces — but Zardari's name was thrown into the race without any such guarantee.

Sharif, ousted by Musharraf during his 1999 coup, also pushed up a middle-of-the week deadline for the restoration of judges fired by Musharraf late last year to avoid challenges to the former strongman's rule.

He wants an agreement by Monday that all — including former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry — will be back on the bench, saying a surprise Sept. 6 presidential election date forced him to push up his deadline.

Zardari, though he wants the judges reinstated, is not quite as enthusiastic. Like Musharraf, he has accused Chaudhry of being too political, and says it should be up to parliament to decide.

Analysts say he also might fear that the former chief justice would revive corruption cases killed off by Musharraf as part of a failed effort to form a pro-Western power-sharing deal with Bhutto before her assassination.

The PPP, fearing the loss of its coalition partner, has already started seeking support from other smaller parties.

The crisis comes as Pakistan is increasingly threatened by extremist violence.

The ruling coalition — united primarily in their hatred of Musharraf — dabbled in peace talks with the militants soon after taking power five months ago, something the former president briefly tried as well.

But after limited success, they have increasingly relied on military force to try to beat back al-Qaida and Taliban-linked insurgents in the remote and rugged tribal regions along the border with Afghanistan.

The militants have responded with force in recent days.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for one of the country's deadliest-ever terrorist attacks, a twin suicide bombing at a massive government weapons complex that killed 67 people and injured more than 100 on Thursday.

On Saturday, a car packed with explosives rammed into a police station in Swat, a former tourist destination, killing six officers and injuring several, said local police official Mohib Ullahn.

A roadside bomb in the nearby village of Bari Kot killed one civilian and injured four, said Muslim Khan, a spokesman for the Taliban militants, threatening more violence unless the army stops operations against them.

___