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Musharraf Demands Immunity

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The New York Times

Published: August 18, 2008

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Pervez Musharraf showed continued defiance on Sunday to threats of impeachment, saying through aides that he wanted to see the formal charges before making any decision to leave office.

A former general, Musharraf is known as a fighter, and colleagues said that as his career seemed poised to end in indignity, he was determined not to bend to politicians whom he has long viewed with disdain. Negotiations between representatives of Musharraf and the coalition government on an exit strategy that would satisfy both sides continued over the weekend.

At the core of the talks is Musharraf's demand that he be immune from prosecution if he resigns before the impeachment proceedings begin.

The negotiations were bogged down over the legal technicalities of when immunity would be granted, according to a senior coalition official. The coalition was reluctant to grant immunity before Musharraf left office, because of fears that once he had won immunity he would not depart, said the official, who declined to be identified because of the delicacy of the talks.

The 4-month-old civilian government announced 10 days ago that it would bring impeachment charges on the grounds that Musharraf violated the constitution when he declared a state of emergency in November, firing 60 judges under the decree.

The coalition is composed of the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-N.

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