Word: musharraf
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There can be no doubt that Pervez Musharraf's nearly nine years in power are nearing a close. As the deeply unpopular President's opponents have steadily closed in, some of his key allies have abandoned his side. The powerful army he led for nine years shows no sign of intervening. And even the once guaranteed voice of support from Washington appears to have fallen silent, while the chorus calling for his exit continues to grow louder...
...week after threatening to impeach Musharraf, the four-month-old coalition government was finalizing its "charge sheet" against the President, even as the last of the four provincial legislatures unanimously passed what is in effect a vote of no confidence against the President. The verdict of the legislators of the vast and restive Baluchistan province follows the resolution passed unanimously in Sindh and by over 90% of the votes cast in the other two provinces, Punjab and the North-West Frontier...
However, Ahmed Mukthar, the Defense Minister and a senior member of the PPP, says he is convinced that neither the U.S. nor the Pakistani military would come to Musharraf's aid. "The army is totally out of politics, and the Americans are going to support democracy over any individual." Indeed, as White House spokesman Tony Fratto reiterated after the news broke: "The internal politics of Pakistan is an issue for the Pakistani people to decide. Our expectation is that any action will be consistent with the rule of law and the Pakistani constitution. It is the responsibility of Pakistan...
...other important agreement among the coalition partners was the decision to reinstate the judges Musharraf sacked. According to Zardari and Sharif's joint statement, all the judges will return to their original positions after an "executive order" has been passed. Until now, the issue threatened to split the delicately stitched alliance. Sharif pulled his ministers from the cabinet after Zardari backtracked on an earlier agreement. The PPP has had deep reservations about Iftikhar Chaudhry, the chief justice who sparked Pakistan's political crisis last year when he refused to resign under pressure from Musharraf...
...equivocation lost the PPP considerable support as critics accused it of trying to preserve Musharraf in office. There were charges of vested interest: the Musharraf appointed-court had cleared Zardari of corruption charges against him through an amnesty issued by the president. Chaudhry, the deposed chief justice, has threatened to revoke that order. In the end, after a long night of negotiations, Zardari relented. The only injustice perhaps left is that Chaudhry will have no say in Musharraf's fate. He will not return to the bench until Musharraf is out of office...