200808081964 | Pakistan coalition threaten to impeach Musharraf

Pakistan coalition threaten to impeach Musharraf

Pakistan faced fresh political turmoil after officials said the country's ruling coalition had agreed to impeach President Pervez Musharraf (pictured earlier this year), a vital US ally in the "war on terror."

Pakistan faced fresh political turmoil after officials said the country's ruling coalition had agreed to impeach President Pervez Musharraf (pictured earlier this year), a vital US ally in the "war on terror."

Pakistan faced a fresh political crisis on Thursday after officials said the ruling coalition had agreed to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, a vital US ally in the "war on terror.

The agreement came after three days of marathon talks between coalition leaders Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and Nawaz Sharif, another ex-premier.

"The coalition parties have agreed in principle to launch an impeachment motion against President Musharraf," a senior coalition official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The government had summoned the national assembly, or lower house of parliament, to sit on August 11 and could begin the impeachment proceedings then, the official added.

Musharraf cancelled a trip to Beijing for the opening of the Olympic Games and his place will be taken by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, the foreign ministry said shortly after news of the impeachment plan emerged.

Musharraf's allies have previously said he would fight any attempt to topple him, and a presidential source said he was consulting close aides on Thursday to discuss a course of action.

"The president's options are either to issue an order dissolving the national assembly or impose emergency rule, under which the government will be suspended and a new caretaker set-up would be announced," the source told AFP.
This handout picture released by the Pakistan People's Party shows Pakistani former premier Nawaz Sharif (right) greeting coalition partner Asif Ali Zardari upon arrival for meeting in Islamabad. Pakistan faced a fresh political crisis after officials said the ruling coalition had agreed to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, a vital US ally in the "war on terror.
This handout picture released by the Pakistan People's Party shows Pakistani former premier Nawaz Sharif (right) greeting coalition partner Asif Ali Zardari upon arrival for meeting in Islamabad. Pakistan faced a fresh political crisis after officials said the ruling coalition had agreed to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, a vital US ally in the "war on terror.

Spokesmen for the two main parties in the coalition said a formal announcement by the alliance's leaders was due to be made later Thursday.

"A broad understanding has been reached. The leadership is making final touches to the agreement," Ahsan Iqbal, a spokesman for Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), told reporters outside Zardari's house in Islamabad.

Musharraf, a former commando, seized power in a military coup in October 1999 and ruled nuclear-armed Pakistan for eight years with the backing of the United States, which has counted him as a key ally since the September 11 attacks.

But his popularity slumped after he ousted the country's chief justice and imposed a state of emergency in November 2007 to prevent any challenges to his re-election as president.

Musharraf stepped down as army chief that month, and the parties of Bhutto and Sharif subsequently trounced his allies in general elections in February.

Coalition sources said the agreement to impeach came when Sharif assured Zardari that he could count on the support of some former PML-N members who are currently in a pro-Musharraf party.