Musharraf cancels Beijing visit amid fears of impeachment

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, Aug 6 (PTI) President Pervez Musharraf
Wednesday abruptly cancelled his scheduled visit to China to
attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games as the ruling
coalition appeared to be closing ranks on his possible
impeachment.
Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told reporters
that Musharraf, who was due to fly to Beijing, had called off
his visit due to "developments at home", as the ruling
coalition allies Pakistan People's Party and P.M.L.(N.) went
into a huddle to decide his fate.
An official of the President House too confirmed the
cancellation of the visit without giving any reason.
Sadiq said, "The Chinese government has been
informed that due to developments at home, the President will
not be able to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics in
Beijing."
Other sources said Musharraf cancelled his visit after
the top leaders of the Pakistan People's Party-led coalition
agreed "in principle" to impeach the President and his
nine-year reign.
Musharraf has called a meeting of his close
constitutional and legal advisors at his camp office in
Rawalpindi to discuss a strategy to counter any possible move
to impeach him, the sources said.
The sources further said the decision to explore ways
to impeach Musharraf was taken during a marathon six-hour
meeting Tuesday between P.P.P. co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari
and P.M.L.-N. chief Nawaz Sharif.
Zardari had also reportedly cancelled a planned visit
to China for the August 8 opening of the Olympic Games.
Differences over handling of Musharraf and reinstatement
of senior judges sacked by the president under a state of
emergency last November have strained relations between the
two parties with P.M.L.(N.) quitting the cabinet in May.
While Sharif had been vocally demanding ouster of
Musharraf, who deposed him in a bloodless military coup in
1999, the P.P.P. has so far refrained for taking on the former
military strongman and stressed on having a "working
relationship" with him.
Both parties have been tight-lipped about the meeting
and did not issue any statement on their talks.
Leaders of both parties merely said they had reached
consensus on several key issues and a final decision would be
taken after consulting other allies of the coalition,
including the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Awami National Party and
parliamentarians from the tribal areas.
The P.P.P. and P.M.L.-N. also held hectic consultations
with leaders of the other parties in the coalition Tuesday
night.
During his visit to China during August 6-9, Musharraf
was also scheduled to hold talks with Chinese leaders and
other heads of states and governments attending the Olympics.