Musharraf Will Face Impeachment

President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan has canceled his visit to the Beijing Olympics to fight impeachment proceedings. The ruling coalition composed of the Pakistan People’s Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-N has decided to charge him with having “eroded the trust of the nation.” One might say that began with his 1999 coup d’etat against a legitimately elected government.

Asif Ali Zardari, leader of the PPP and widower of Benazir Bhutto, said, “We have good news for democracy. The coalition believes it is imperative to move for impeachment against General Musharraf.” He added, “He has worked to undermine the transition to democracy.” Also, he said, “The incompetence and the failure of his policies has thrown the country into the worst power shortage in its history. His policies have weakened the federation and eroded the trust of the nation in national institutions.” Since President Musharraf could avoid the whole thing by dissolving parliament, Mr. Zardari warned, “If he does it, it will be his last verdict against the people.”

Not to be outdone, the PML-N’s Nawaz Sharif said, “Pakistan cannot afford to see democracy derailed, this is not the same Pakistan as was the case in the 1980s and 1990s. People will not accept it now.”

Before getting the impeachment bandwagon rolling, the government is going to try passing votes of no confidence in the president at the federal and provincial levels. Unlike the 2/3 majority needed to impeach, here a simple majority would be needed. Analysts of Pakistani politics believe the votes would soften up support for President Musharraf.

There are two other factors that come into play, the US government and the Pakistani military. The Guardian noted, “Hasan-Askari Rizvi, a political analyst based in Lahore, suggested US support for Musharraf has cooled. ‘They won't be too perturbed now if he is knocked out by constitutional means. The Americans see that unless this issue is dealt with, government won't be able to function’.”

As for the Pakistani army and intelligence services, they’ll keep their powder dry until the final act of the play. If President Musharraf is too badly damaged to be worth saving, they’ll cut a deal with his successor.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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