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Musharraf Insists He Will Fight Impeachment Effort

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The New York Times

Published: August 16, 2008

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Pervez Musharraf fought back Friday against politicians who asserted he would resign rather than face impeachment charges, saying through his chief political supporter that he would challenge the charges when they were brought to the parliament.

Politicians across all parties, however, characterized the public insistence by Musharraf, a former military man, as a kind of last stand, a bravura performance that could not be maintained under the political reality that almost all of his support has evaporated.

If Musharraf did not step down voluntarily very soon, the man who succeeded him as army chief last year, Gen. Ishfaq Parvez Kayani, would quietly make it clear he had to leave, two senior Pakistani figures, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation, said.

A statement issued by a presidential spokesman said that reports that Musharraf would step down were "baseless and malicious."

Politicians up and down the political spectrum, including some from Musharraf's party, said Friday that they doubted Musharraf would actually appear in parliament to respond to the charges. It was clear, they said, he could not prevail in a vote.

Leaders of the two major parties in the coalition government announced last week they would seek Musharraf's impeachment on charges that include illegally suspending the constitution and imposing emergency rule in November, and wrongly dismissing 60 judges under that decree.

The Minister of Information, Sherry Rehman, said Friday that a drafting panel had completed a charge sheet against Musharraf. She did not specify the charges or a date the charges would be presented to parliament.

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