Islamabad, August 8
Ruling out his resignation, President Pervez Musharraf has decided to face impeachment proceedings to be initiated against him by Pakistan’s ruling coalition and vowed to defend himself before Parliament.

Awami Muslim League leader Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, a close confidant of Musharraf, said the President was determined to fight back.

During a meeting yesterday with his trusted legal advisers, Musharraf was quoted by Geo News as saying that he would respond to the charges against him in Parliament.

Musharraf, 63, told PML-Q leader Muhammad Ali Durrani, constitutional expert Sharifuddin Pirzada and attorney-general Malik Qayyum that he had not violated the constitution for personal gains and that every action of his was in the “best interest of Pakistan”.

“I have not abrogated the constitution and will respond to the charges against me in Parliament,” Musharraf was quoted as telling his aides by the Dawn newspaper.

Meanwhile, in a message conveyed to Musharraf through a trusted aide, ruling Pakistan People’s Party leader Asif Ali Zardari has said the President “should resign so that proceedings against him in Parliament could be defended”.

Sources also claimed that Zardari, who recently described the President as a “relic of the past”, wanted to provide Musharraf with a safe passage.

In the message, which was conveyed after the coalition announced it would impeach the President, Zardari said the country was facing a dire situation and “no individual or institution should attempt any adventure that might jeopardise national stability”.

The Daily Times newspaper said Zardari had asked Musharraf to “practically demonstrate that he prefers national interests over his own and honour his slogan of ‘Pakistan first’”.

However, Musharraf said he would not surrender without contesting the charges levelled against him by the Pakistan People’s Party-led coalition.

During a news conference yesterday, Zardari and his ally PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif accused Musharraf of “incompetence” and bringing Pakistan to the “brink of a critical economic impasse” through his policies over the past eight years. — PTI