Musharraf past his shelf life

LAHORE - Despite the brave front being put up by President Pervez Musharraf in face of ever-increasing pressure on him to resign even before the impeachment motion is tabled in the Parliament it is becoming increasingly likely he will not be able to withstand the momentum of the political onslaught against him and in the coming days he will be forced to quit. The Provincial Assemblies resolution, being tabled in the Punjab Assembly today, also asks for his resignation forthwith.

With his loyalists in the PML-Q and its allies including supremo Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain distancing from him and advising him to fight or resign, the numbers game seems to be heavily skewed against Musharraf. Both PPP and PML-N are working overnight to woo the opposition and are already claiming to have mustered more than the required two-thirds majority of the joint strength of the Parliament to oust him.

Sceptics predict that Asif Ali Zardari and Mian Nawaz Sharif will fall out on the issue of who will be the next president. However, it seems to be premature as both party leaders and their junior partners are on the same page about the antecedents of the next President.

Both, contrary to popular speculation, do not fit the bill for the next president. In their recent marathon meetings in Islamabad, both Nawaz and Zardari expressed the desire not to be candidate for the presidential slot. Broad agreement was reached on a candidate who will be of a national stature, non-controversial and preferably from a smaller province. They even shortlisted a few names but both are tightlipped about disclosing them at this stage.