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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (29381)	8/12/2008 10:13:47 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Respond to of 71588

Pressure Mounts on Musharraf A Second Province Passes Resolution Demanding Ouster By ZAHID HUSSAIN August 13, 2008 online.wsj.com ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Deserted by many of his former supporters, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf lost more ground in his struggle to stay in office, as lawmakers in the country's North West Frontier Province passed a resolution demanding he step down. The vote came a day after legislators in Pakistan's largest province of Punjab passed a similar resolution, with Mr. Musharraf's former allies joining the call for his removal. Pakistan's two other provinces, Sindh and Baluchistan, are expected to follow suit when their provincial legislatures meet Wednesday. Shazia Aurangzeb, a legislator from Pakistan's North West Frontier Province assembly, ripped a poster of President Musharraf during the assembly session in Peshawar, Pakistan, Tuesday. The pressure from the provinces comes as Pakistan's ruling coalition government moves to complete impeachment charges it is preparing against Mr. Musharraf, a former general who ruled the country with military backing for almost nine years before democracy was restored earlier this year. "This tidal wave against President Pervez Musharraf shows that all democratic forces are together for his impeachment," federal Information Minister Sherry Rehman told reporters here in the capital. But there is no clear sign yet that Mr. Musharraf is ready to give up. Monday night, he celebrated his 65th birthday by throwing a party at his official residence in Rawalpindi that was attended by top military brass, including army chief of staff Gen. Ashfaq Kayani. According to a close aide, Mr. Musharraf has considered stepping down. But the aide said Mr. Musharraf's position hardened after Asif Ali Zardari, the head of the Pakistan People's Party, the senior partner in the coalition government, accused the former general of siphoning off part of the American military aid sent to Pakistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S. In an interview with Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, Mr. Zardari alleged that Mr. Musharraf diverted U.S. funds meant to aid the war on terror into a slush fund to support clandestine operations by Paksitan's military-intelligence agency. The allegation also has infuriated the army, which Mr. Musharraf headed for more than nine years. Meanwhile, Islamist militants are exploiting the political stalemate to expand their control of large swaths of the troubled North West Frontier region and other tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. On Tuesday, the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for a roadside bomb that blew up a Pakistan air-force truck near Peshawar, killing 14 people. The Taliban, in a statement, said the attack was in response to the military's pounding of insurgent positions in a nearby tribal area. The blast in Peshawar, the main city of the restive frontier with Afghanistan, escalates further the fighting in a region where the new government is struggling to contain increasingly brazen militants. It deals another blow to efforts to strike peace deals with hard-liners in the Swat Valley and other areas, pacts that U.S. officials say would strengthen extremists. While no Pakistani leader has ever been impeached, such proceedings against Mr. Musharraf appear inevitable if he stands his ground against the coalition government. Government leaders have said they plan to introduce an impeachment motion this month, but political analysts said it could take several weeks before such a motion is voted upon. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, president of the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League, said Tuesday that the president is determined to defend himself against Mr. Zardari's allegations. "He will not quit," he said.