Pakistan President Defies Calls To Resign

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — President Musharraf defied calls for his resignation yesterday as Pakistan’s government took preliminary steps to open impeachment proceedings against him for violating the constitution.Mr. Musharraf, a key ally in the American-led war on terror who seized power in a coup in 1999, dismissed charges against him saying he would fight any attempt to remove him from office.Speaking for the first time since the government announced its impeachment plans, Rashid Qureshi, the president’s spokesman, said: “There is no reason that he should resign. Everything they are saying is false, so why should he resign?”However he declined to comment on Mr. Musharraf’s plans.His options include trying to defeat impeachment in parliament, dissolving parliament, or declaring a state of emergency.Mr. Qureshi claimed that the government’s assertion that it has rounded up the necessary two-thirds parliamentary majority to impeach the president was false.The two main forces with influence in Pakistan, the army and America, have yet to publicly take a stand on the issue.Mr. Musharraf has been embroiled in a power struggle with the civilian coalition government since his party was defeated in elections in February.Deep distrust has poisoned relations between the president and the Pakistan People’s Party, the dominant partner in the coalition, which has accused Mr. Musharraf of attempting to undermine the government.The PPP formed a coalition government with Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister, who was deposed by Mr. Musharraf and who has agitated for the president’s dismissal.The coalition is trying to give Mr. Musharraf space to resign without facing the humiliation of impeachment, while exerting more pressure with resolutions against him being passed in the four provincial assemblies.Meanwhile, Al Qaeda’s second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, accused Mr. Musharraf of trying to destabilize Pakistan at the behest of America.Mr. Zawahiri’s message, which if verified would disprove reports last month that he had been killed in an air strike.

Pakistan President Defies Calls To Resign

Pakistan President Defies Calls To Resign

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