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Musharraf Faces Impeachment
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A long-simmering dispute over how to restore the judges threatened to permanently divide the two ruling parties and brought the country to a virtual standstill amid one of the worst economic crises in its history.
Sharif, whose party drew strong support at the polls in part because of its calls to restore the judiciary, held that a simple executive order was sufficient to do so. But Zardari's party insisted on adopting complex constitutional amendments to restore the judiciary. The impasse was apparently broken in several days of marathon meetings between coalition party members.
Speaking together Thursday for the first time in months in Islamabad, Zardari and Sharif said they would push for the restoration of Pakistan's fractured judiciary and, if Musharraf is impeached, bring deposed Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry back to the bench.
Musharraf, 64, came to power in October 1999 after a military coup against Sharif. His political fortunes shifted last year after he suspended Chaudhry from the bench. The move prompted a political conflagration that led to dozens of clashes. Musharraf lost further political capital after he ordered a raid on the historic Red Mosque in Islamabad, where fighters had holed up. More than 100 people died in the ensuing battle.
New challenges to Musharraf's rule mounted in November after he declared a state of emergency and placed Chaudhry and about 60 other judges under house arrest. Public support for Musharraf dropped after the Dec. 27 assassination of former premier and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.
Yet, Musharraf still appears to draw significant support from within his Pakistan Muslim League-Q party. Tariq Azim Khan, a leading spokesman for the party, said he is confident that the party will largely back the president in what could be the defining moment of his political career.
"Rightly or wrongly, people may not agree with his politics but all those who voted for him in Parliament should stand behind him," Azim said.
Special correspondent Shaiq Hussain contributed to this report.
