Can't rule out impeaching Mush, says Zardari

Islamabad: In what could be seen as the first indication of the fast changing political equations in Pakistan, PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday told CNN-IBN the new regime cannot rule out impeachment proceedings against President Pervez Musharraf.

The statement comes hours after Pakistan's ruling party conceded defeat in the general elections as the Opposition parties scored thumping wins.

PPP secured 86 seats in the 272-member National Assembly but needs at least 50 more to form the government. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) took the second spot with 66 seats while the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) backed by President Pervez Musharraf trailed third with 49 seats.

Therefore, PPP and PML-N seem to have emerged as the main contenders to claim power in Islamabad.

Zardari also said the new government will not work with anyone from the previous regime and will change the definition on war on terror as it is defined today. “The whole war on terror has been defined wrongly. It is a war of terror against Pakistan and we have to fight it as our own war. We have lost our leader, Benazir. We know there are agents within the government who have been plotting against us,” he said.

Sharif too echoed Zardari’s words and said he would meet Zardari and leaders of other democratic forces soon to discuss the formation of a new government.

"I invite everyone to sit together and rid Pakistan of dictatorship for all time. We will cooperate with (all democratic forces) and try to seek their cooperation...To accomplish this democratic agenda, all of us must unite on one common platform,” Sharif was quoted as saying by news agencies.

Sharif said he will meet Zardari on Thursday, while insisting that the deposed members of the superior judiciary should be reinstated so that they can decide on the legality of Pervez Musharraf's re-election as President in October last year.

“I have already discussed this matter with Mr Asif Zardari and I told him that Pakistan's judiciary's independence is very strongly linked with its restoration. It is dependent on the restoration of the judiciary. Unless the judges are restored, the judiciary cannot attain any independence," he said.

Musharraf sacked nearly 60 members of the superior judiciary during the emergency, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry and other judges who were hearing challenges to his re-election.

(With agency inputs)