Pak ruling alliance to flex its muscles on Monday

Islamabad, Aug.17 : The ruling coalition is expected to showcase its numerical strength in the two houses of parliament before introducing the impeachment motion against President Pervez Musharraf in parliament on Monday evening.

An important meeting will take place at Prime Minister House and will be followed by dinner, The News reports.

It is expected that Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, the Leader of the House in the Pakistan Senate, will announce the outlines of the (30-point) charge-sheet for the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf here today.

By announcing the contents of the charge-sheet, Rabbani will give a final ultimatum to the president, following which the process of impeachment will be initiated.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan Attorney General, Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, has been summoned by Musharraf to give his legal opinion. Pirzada, sources said, could knock at the doors of the Supreme Court for relief.

Well-placed sources told The News that the federal capital would witness hectic political activities on Sunday before the impeachment process of the president gets started.

The members of various committees constituted for the task last week are reported to be already meeting at the residence of Information and Broadcasting Minister Sherry Rehman.

The alliance sources are satisfied that all the benchmarks set for the different committees have been achieved for the success of the impeachment and the leadership of the alliance is satisfied that the committees have been performing their functions satisfactorily.

Law and Justice Ministry experts are said to be surprised over the document prepared by the drafting committee that is comprehensively in line with the demands of the Constitution and law.

Political observers are of the view that Musharraf is on the way to losing everything with every passing minute since the ruling alliance is not inclined to extend the deadline that it has determined for the conclusion of the impeachment.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has already warned the president that with the commencement of the impeachment process, any chance of amnesty recedes.

It has been hinted by sources in the Presidency that former law minister Abdul Hafeez Pirzada would appear in parliament in the event of impeachment hearing. The president has engaged him and he is preparing the case on his behalf.

Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada did not rule out the possibility of challenging the process in the court of law by saying that all this was hypothetical at this stage.

ANI