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Pakistan government wants Musharraf to quit

PPP dismisses contention that judges were not sacked

Dubai/Islamabad: A day after a Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf declared that he would not resign under pressure; Pakistan’s ruling coalition asked him to step down on his own for the sake of the country or face Parliament.

“The Parliament always has the power that whenever it wants, it can send home democratically a President or a Prime Minister,” said PPP Chairman Asif Ali Zardari in Madina, Saudi Arabia.

The retired General Musharraf on Saturday said he had no plans to resign or go into exile despite growing pressure from the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and its ally PML-N that he should step down.

“If Musharraf is not ready to go the sovereign Parliament has the absolute powers to decide his future,” said Mr. Zardari. In Lahore, PML (N) leader Shahbaz Sharif said: “General Musharraf’s dictatorship is taking its last breath.” Reacting to the President’s assertion that he could not stand his powers being clipped, the PPP said it amounted to “contempt of Parliament and the Constitution” and a warning to the elected parliamentarians. PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar asked General Musharraf to see the writing on the wall, pointing out that “a massive majority of the people” had voted against the President in the February 18 election.

A matter of time

“Sooner or later, he has to quit. Whether he goes into exile or not is a different matter, but the people of Pakistan and the political parties want him out,” said Mr. Babar said. “It is best if he quits for the sake of political stability in the country,” he said.

The PPP has drafted a constitutional reforms package aimed at stripping General Musharraf of his major powers, including dissolving Parliament and appointing service chiefs. The package is aimed at restoring the balance of powers between the presidency and Parliament, said Mr. Babar. Mr. Zardari is currently in Saudi Arabia along with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

The PPP also dismissed General Musharraf’s contention that he had not sacked judges during last year’s Emergency and that they had ceased to be judges as they did not take a fresh oath.

“To assert that the judges ceased to be judges because they did not take oath of allegiance to Musharraf is a mockery of the judiciary and the constitution,” said Mr. Babar. — PTI

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