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| India-Pakistan |
| Stage set for Musharraf's impeachment; NA session on Monday |
| 2008-08-10 |
| (PTI) The stage was set today for the launch of impeachment proceedings against President Pervez Musharraf with the summoning of the National Assembly on Monday even as he ruled out dissolving the House to overcome the crisis facing him. The 342-member lower house will meet at 5 PM on August 11 for a session that will decide the fate of the 64-year-old Musharraf who himself issued the notification at the behest of the PPP-led ruling coalition which is moving for his impeachment. Amid mounting speculation about how he would handle the challenge, Musharraf pledged to face the impeachment motion in a "democratic spirit" and not to use his constitutional powers to dissolve the Assembly. While there have been questions as to whether the coalition had the numbers in the two houses of Parliament--the National Assembly and the Senate-- to carry through the impeachment, one of his closest political aides Sheikh Rashid, a former federal minister, surprisingly advised the beleaguered leader to quit. Rashid was of the view that the coalition would win the numbers game and the army would not support the President if he chose to dissolve the Assembly. Musharraf, who has not spoken in public since the coalition announced two days ago its decision to impeach him, met top leaders of PML-Q, his ally, at Rawalpindi after which sources quoted him as telling the meeting that he had not indulged in "loot, corruption and malpractices". |
| Posted by:Fred |