Musharraf Faces Impeachment

Pakistan's Ruling Coalition Calls for No-Confidence Vote in Parliament

ISLAMABAD, Aug. 7 -- 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.

"His policies have weakened the federation and eroded the trust of the nation in national institutions," Zardari said at a news conference held here with Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N faction and a former prime minister. "The coalition believes it has become imperative to move for impeachment."

Internationally, Musharraf has been viewed alternately as a political pariah and a bold statesman in a region that has suffered instability for more than three decades. His profile rose considerably after he allied himself with the United States following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

He has been a key ally in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, providing operational bases and logistical support for the U.S. military and arresting al-Qaeda figures within Pakistan's borders. Yet, doubts have lingered about the sincerity of his loyalty to the U.S. mission. Recently, Pakistan has come under heavy pressure from the Bush administration to rein in Islamist insurgents in areas along the Afghan border, while Pakistan's intelligence agencies have been accused of assisting Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

The ruling coalition has called for members of Pakistan's four provincial assemblies to move for a vote of no confidence on Musharraf's tenure in office. Impeachment proceedings would be separate. A combined two-thirds majority vote in both the National Assembly and Senate would be required to oust him from the presidency.

Should the coalition succeed, the move would be a first in the nation's 61-year history to remove a head of state through this rare parliamentary measure.

In a sign of the seriousness of the crisis, Musharraf canceled a scheduled trip to Beijing for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. The coalition government announced that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani would fly to Beijing instead.

Musharraf, who stepped down as army chief in November, remained silent Thursday. Pakistan braced for the possibility that the president could move to dissolve Parliament under a controversial amendment adopted during his rule.

The president met with a top constitutional expert, presumably to discuss his options, according to local news reports, and was expected to meet with Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, the military chief, and top officers of the army.

Sharif and Zardari announced their decision to oust Musharraf about three months after Sharif pulled his party out of government cabinet positions in protest over Zardari's refusal to immediately reinstate about 60 judges fired by the president last year.