|
Islamabad: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) seems to be moving closer to the persistent demand of its main coalition partner for the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf.
"Musharraf is the source of political instability," acknowledged PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar as lawyers, political workers, members of civil society, former bureaucrats, retired generals and even former senior diplomats prepared to extend support to the lawyer community as it embarked on its much anticipated "long march".
Describing Musharraf as "part of the problem and not part of the solution", Babar said that unless the retired general was impeached and prosecuted for treason under Article 6 of the constitution, the democratic coalition's problems would continue to multiply.
Musharraf has constantly faced accusations of trying to weaken the coalition between the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) though his loyalists in the PML-Q - an allegation the retired general has refuted.
Prospect of misadventure
Babar said the president - whom PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has dubbed the unconstitutional head of state and even a relic of the past - must not only be "impeached" but also be put in the dock for violations of the constitution among other misdeeds.
The PPP spokesman said the country would continue to be haunted by the prospect of another adventurer seizing power in future if the government was found wanting in dealing with past misdeeds.
Babar's remarks marked a change of tone more in keeping with the PML-N's views on the president.
But the PPP leadership is yet to come out with a clear-cut stand on whether it is indeed pondering impeachment of the president.
Impeachment can be done during a joint session of the two houses of parliament - the 342-member National Assembly and the 100-memebr Senate.
Meanwhile droves of lawyers set out yesterday from Karachi after paying homage at the mausoleum of the nation's founder and also from cities in Sindh and Balochistan, their destination being Multan, the launch-pad of the long march.
The main leader of the lawyer community, Supreme Court Bar president Aitzaz Ahsan, said from Multan that the activists would travel to Lahore on June 11 where they would be seen off by deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and other sacked judges.
|
