Chargesheet draft awaits leaders' nod

ISLAMABAD - President of Awami National Party (ANP) Asfandyar Wali Khan on Sunday had a detailed meeting with PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari at Zardari House and primarily discussed with him the issue of impeachment of President Musharraf and other options to settle the issue.

Meanwhile, the government  said that the draft of chargesheet for impeachment of President Musharraf had been finalised and just required a nod of the coalition parties’ heads to get the whole process rolling.

A multi-party delegation of political leaders of Balochistan also called on the PPP Co-Chairman Senator Asif Ali Zardari in the evening. During the luncheon meeting both Zardari and Asfandyar Wali Khan agreed that for the sake of stability of the system, the political dispensation should give safe passage to President Musharraf if he decided to call it a day, the sources privy to the deliberations of the meeting disclosed to TheNation.

The sources in the coalition government said that all the coalition partners, except Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), wanted to give safe passage to President Musharraf and wanted to avoid confrontation.

The sources further disclosed that both Asif Ali Zardari and Asfandyar Wali discussed the charge sheet and decided with consensus that in case President did not step down, coalition government would go for his impeachment.  

Meanwhile, Asif Ali Zardari, in his meeting with a delegation from Balochistan, led by the Chief Minister Aslam Raisani, PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari thanked the Balochistan Assembly for passing a resolution asking for the resignation of Pervez Musharraf and his impeachment under Article 47 of the Constitution. He also explained as to why it was necessary to remove the President from the scene who was a factor of instability in the county.

The delegation, led by the Chief Minister Balochistan included Maulana Waseh, JUI, Aslam Bhotani, Speaker, Ahsan Shah, BNP (Awami), Mir Zafarullah Zehri, Zamrukh Khan (ANP), Ruqia Hashmi, Begum Parveen Magsi, Sardar Aslam Bazinjo (Independent), Capt. Abdul Khaliq (PML-N)), Bashar Dost, Amanullah and a number of PPP leaders. Leader of the House in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani also attended the meeting.

Senator Asif Ali Zardari said that the PPP had already apologised to the people of Balochistan for excesses committed against them in the past. He said that the coalition government would make the people of Balochistan shareholders in the development projects and natural resources to mitigate their sufferings and allay their misgiving and to make them feel that they were stakeholders in the progress and development of Pakistan.

There was an interactive dialogue and discussion with the members of the delegation on the problems and issues faced by the people of Balochistan. The PPP Co-Chairman assured the delegation that the coalition government would address their problems in the right earnest.