Musharraf won't dismiss hostile assembly: ally
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Saturday, August 9, 2008; 11:17 AM
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - An old political ally of President Pervez Musharraf said on Saturday Pakistan's embattled former army chief will not use his powers to dissolve the National Assembly to pre-empt moves to impeach him.
Facing what could be his final challenge, Musharraf called on his foes in the assembly to convene on Monday, knowing the country's four-month-old civilian coalition intends to force him into a confidence vote or impeach him.
After meeting Musharraf on Saturday, senior politician Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain removed lingering fears he will undo the transition to democracy after nine years of military rule by dismissing the assembly.
"He doesn't have any such intention," Hussain, who stepped down as head of the pro-Musharraf party after its defeat in a February election, told the Express television news channel.
The election was won by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of two time Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated while campaigning in December.
Bhutto's husband and political successor, Asif Ali Zardari, then formed a fragile coalition with Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister Musharraf overthrew in a coup in 1999, and on Thursday they jointly announced plans to impeach the president.
The United States, Western allies, and regional neighbors, India and Afghanistan, fear a prolonged constitutional crisis will lead to instability in the nuclear-armed state.
They also worry Pakistan will be distracted away from fighting al Qaeda, the Taliban and other Islamist factions whose influence has spread across the northwest of the Muslim country.
POKER-FACED GENERAL
Musharraf, who came to power in a 1999 coup, has not made any public response since Zardari and Sharif declared their plan on Thursday to oust him.
Some allies say Musharraf won't go without a fight, though he has said previously he would quit rather than be impeached.
His foes say they're confident of getting the two-thirds majority in parliament to oust him and saw Musharraf bowing to the inevitable.
