Islamabad, February 23
Moves were afoot today to clip President Pervez Musharraf’s sweeping powers despite the US standing by the beleaguered Pakistani leader rendered vulnerable after this week’s parliamentary polls in which opposition parties scored stunning victories.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which has emerged as the single largest force in the new National Assembly, is planning to strip Musharraf of the power to dismiss Parliament under Article 58 of the Constitution, which he had reinstated.

Leaders of the PPP, which will head the next coalition government, have been holding closed door meetings to chart out their course of action that is likely to be made public on Monday.

However, in a clear indicator that it would curtail the President’s powers the party said in a statement that the participants in the meeting had vowed to work for the restoration of the parliamentary supremacy “by undoing undemocratic provisions under which elected parliaments have been dismissed.”

Stepping up consultations for forming the coalition government, Zardari discussed possible cooperation with Altaf Hussain, chief of pro-Musharraf MQM, a move apparently opposed by Nawaz Sharif. Zardari spoke to the London-based Hussain on phone late last night and discussed government formation and political situation. Zardari also discussed the possibility of cooperation in government formation with chief of the religious Jamiat Ulema-e Islam party Maulana Fazlur Rehman today. The party, meanwhile, put off naming PM till the first week of March.

For Musharraf the positive news emanated from Washington where Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice gave credit to him for holding free and fair elections and said, “The President of Pakistan is Pervez Musharraf.... and so, of course, we will deal with him.” — PTI