Islamabad, May 25 (ANI): Despite Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's determination to stick to his office, Pakistan People's Party Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari has reportedly got the green signal from the United States to remove him from office.
US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, along with a delegation of Democratic Senators, is expected to come to Pakistan within the next three days to meet both Musharraf and Zardari in this regard.
"Negroponte will arrive in Pakistan with a message from US President George W. Bush for President Musharraf," sources claimed.
They also said that Negroponte would probably give a timeframe to Musharraf to quit his office. PPP President Makhdoom Amin Fahim is likely to become the next President of Pakistan, The News quoted the sources, as saying.
According to sources, the PPP would give Musharraf time till June 10 to resign.
"The PPP has also completed its work for the impeachment of Musharraf with two-thirds majority in the joint session of Parliament," sources said, adding that the matter of impeachment was also discussed in the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the PPP at Zardari House on Saturday.
The PPP leadership is in constant contact with the forward bloc of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q and independent candidates including Manzoor Watto and Hamid Nasir Chattha. It is expected that most of the Pakistan Muslim League-Qaid-e-Azam parliamentarians would support the PPP in impeaching Musharraf.
"In the meeting, the party Co-Chairman told the members that the President did not want to hand over powers to Parliament and he was creating many obstacles to make the supremacy of Parliament impossible", the sources said.
Violators of Nov 3 Pak SC order to be punished: Iftikhar Chaudhry
Faisalabad, May 25 (ANI): Pakistan's deposed Chief Justice Muhammad Iftikhar Chaudhry has said that the violators of November 3 order of the Supreme Court (SC), which was passed against the declaration of emergency, will be punished.
Chaudhry stated this while addressing lawyers' convention here.
The struggle of the lawyers will not go wasted, he said and hoped that pre-November 3 judiciary would be restored in the country.
"We want the restoration of the judiciary in light of November 3 order of the Supreme Court (SC), which was passed against the declaration of emergency," he said.
The people of the country, lawyers, civil society and political parties have to decide whether they want pre-November 3 judiciary or post- November 3 judiciary, The News quoted Chaudhry, as saying.
PML-N seeks impeachment of Musharraf
Islamabad, May 25 (ANI): On May 24, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has demanded a joint session of Parliament with the single-point agenda of impeaching President Pervez Musharraf.
"The country and the nation will suffer both economically and politically if a delay is caused in convening the joint session of parliament," said PML-N spokesman Siddiqul Farooq at a press conference.
He blamed Musharraf and former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for bringing the country to the brink of an economic collapse, the sharp increase in poverty, the unprecedented price hike and surging unemployment.
He said Aziz, the ex-chief minister of the Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, ex-IB chief Ijaz Shah, ex-chief minister Sindh Arbab Ghulam Rahim and former ambassador to Turkey and ex-NWFP governor Lt Gen (retd) Iftikhar should be investigated for looting national wealth.
He also alleged that Musharraf, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Ijaz Shah were behind the murder of Benazir Bhutto.
Farooq also said Musharraf was responsible for killing large number of soldiers in the tribal areas and during the Kargil war.
He suggested that Musharraf was "forcibly occupying" the slot of president and "hatching conspiracies" against the democratic and elected coalition government.
PML-Q assures support to Musharraf
Islamabad, May 25 (ANI): The Pakistan Muslim League Qaid-e-Azam leadership has assured President Pervez Musharraf that it will oppose an amendment to the proposed constitutional package drafted by the Law Ministry to curtail Musharraf's powers.
PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi met Musharraf on Saturday and gave him this assurance.
During the meeting, both sides discussed the overall political situation in the country and the recent interview of Pakistan Peoples' Party Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari in which he stated there was an immense pressure on him to impeach the president.
Musharraf said in the meeting that he was the Constitutional president and was fulfilling his Constitutional responsibilities. He said that he had no intention of interfering in Government affairs.
It was decided to establish contact with the allies of the PML-Q and arrange their meeting with the president without any loss of time so that the PML-Q could block the constitutional package in the Senate.
Musharraf said he wanted parliament to complete its Constitutional term like the previous assembly, as this would be in the interest of the country and democracy.
"My doors are open to all the political parties and I have no personal grudge with any political leader. I have been repeatedly saying from the very beginning I want a working relationship with the new government as all the political forces will have to get united to counter the challenges facing the country," The News quoted Musharraf, as saying. (ANI)
