Pakistan's ruling coalition parties agreed Thursday to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, setting up a major showdown between the former military chief and the newly elected civilian government. Leaders of the ruling Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-N faction called for a no-confidence vote in Parliament against Musharraf and said they could begin official impeachment proceedings against him within a few days. Pakistan People's Party co-chair Asif Ali Zardari said Musharraf's nearly nine-year rule had thrown the country into turmoil. The time had come, he said, to break the six-month-long political deadlock that has paralyzed Pakistan since the civilian-dominated coalition was swept to power in parliamentary elections Feb. 18.Coalition Moves to Impeach Musharraf - Jane Perlez, New York Times
Pakistan’s usually fractious coalition government moved decisively for the first time on Thursday to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, who has been an important American ally in the campaign against terror but who has largely been pushed to the sidelines since his party lost elections in February. “It has become imperative to move for impeachment against General Musharraf,” said Asif Ali Zardari, the head of the Pakistan Peoples Party, sitting beside Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, at a noisy news conference. The two, leaders of the main parties in the governing coalition, have barely been on speaking terms in recent weeks, but they joined together in saying that Mr. Musharraf would be required to face a vote of confidence in the National Assembly. By calling for the vote, they were essentially giving the president an opportunity to step down gracefully before having to confront impeachment proceedings.President Musharraf to be Impeached - Zahid Hussain, The Times
Pakistan’s political crisis came to a head yesterday after the country’s ruling coalition moved to impeach President Musharraf, dealing a potentially critical blow to a key Western ally in the War on Terror. The decision, which would take Pakistani politics into uncharted territory, heightens pressure on the beleaguered President to step down from office. Mr Musharraf has said that he would rather resign than face impeachment but he does retain the power to dismiss Parliament to prevent such proceedings. Announcing the decision after three days of crisis talks, Asif Ali Zardari, head of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which leads the coalition Government, accused Mr Musharraf of conspiring with opposition parties to undermine the country’s transition to democracy. “Musharraf has brought Pakistan to a critical impasse,” said Mr Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister who was assassinated in December.Pakistan Ruling Coalition Pledges to Pursue Musharraf Impeachment - VOA
Top leaders of Pakistan's ruling coalition government say they have agreed on a plan to pursue impeachment proceedings against President Pervez Musharraf. Pakistan's coalition government has been deadlocked for months over whether it will impeach president Musharraf and restore the top judges he fired last November. The leaders have long said they agreed in principle on the issues, but were divided over the process. But in a news conference Thursday led by Pakistan People's Party leader Asif Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Nawaz Sharif, the two announced a strategy to unseat the unpopular leader.Coalition Seeks to Impeach Musharraf - Zaidi and King, Los Angeles Times
In its first decisive move against Pakistan's former military ruler, the governing coalition announced Thursday that it would seek to impeach President Pervez Musharraf unless he agreed to resign. Musharraf's allies indicated that he would fight the attempt to oust him from his civilian post. The developments could usher in a fresh round of turmoil in Pakistan, which has spent the last 18 months in a state of political upheaval. Pakistan is considered a crucial US ally in the fight against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, although relations have lately been badly strained by American concerns over whether the country's new civilian government has the resolve to confront Islamic militants.Musharraf Vows to go Down Fighting - Bruce Loudon, The Australian
Moves to impeach President Pervez Musharraf and force him from office were formally announced by Pakistan's coalition Government last night as the former military dictator abandoned a trip to the Olympics and declared he was prepared to "go down fighting". Blaming Mr Musharraf for the country's woes, Asif Ali Zardari, leader of the Bhutto Pakistan People's Party, made the announcement in Islamabad, while Mr Musharraf was reportedly gathered with advisers nearby, planning a strategy to counter the move. There were widespread fears the 600,000-strong army, which has dominated Pakistan for most of its 60 years as an independent nation and is fiercely loyal to the President, may move to defend his rule.Pakistan's Deadly Vendetta - David Blair, Daily Telegraph opinion
To govern Pakistan is to be permanently in the eye of the storm. Since President Pervez Musharraf seized power almost nine years ago, he has probably survived more plots, assassination attempts and assorted crises than any other leader alive. The most powerful politicians in the new coalition government, over which he uneasily presides, decided yesterday to try to impeach him. This latest threat to Mr Musharraf is remarkably novel. Instead of adopting the traditional methods of removing a Pakistani leader - a military coup; perhaps even a mysterious plane crash - his opponents have chosen an entirely legal way of deposing him. That is the good news. And the disastrous news? Whatever the outcome of the bitter struggle over Mr Musharraf's future, the move to impeach him will ensure that Pakistan's government is consumed by infighting. This power vacuum could scarcely be more dangerous. Islamic extremists who already have free rein across large areas of the country will exploit the official paralysis for all it is worth.