Mush chargesheet supported by documentary evidence: PPP By Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, Aug 12 (PTI) Pakistan's ruling coalition's
chargesheet against President Pervez Musharraf will be backed
by evidence of the "horrendous" crimes allegedly committed
during his regime that could lead to an open trial and make
him liable to impeachment "several times", P.P.P. has said.

Pakistan People's Party spokesman Farhatullah Babar, a
member of the committee that is drafting the chargesheet, said
the panel had made "significant progress" in listing the
charges against Musharraf, which contain charges of misconduct
and violation of the constitution among others.

"It will be an unimpeachable document supported by
documentary evidence of all the acts of omission and
commission committed by Musharraf that make him liable to
impeachment several times," Babar told the Dawn newspaper.

Several leaders of the P.P.P. and its ally PML-N have
said the chargesheet will include charges of misconduct and
violating the constitution.

P.P.P. co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said Musharraf's
alleged misappropriation of millions of dollars of US aid will
also be part of the chargesheet.

Babar said the coalition had uncovered evidence of
"horrendous" crimes allegedly committed during the beleaguered
President's rule.

"We are in the government now and have access to many
previously confidential documents. After going through these
documents, we are surprised over the horrendous nature of the
crimes committed by President Musharraf during his almost
nine-year rule," he said.

Another member of the drafting committee said besides
misconduct and "subversion of the constitution", the
chargesheet is expected to include imposition of emergency
last year and attack on the judiciary.

It is also likely to include the detention of people
without charges by security agencies, the operation against
Lal Masjid, killing of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar
Bugti and detention of hundreds of youths in Balochistan
without trial, the member added.

P.P.P. leader and Information Minister Sherry Rehman said
she was hopeful that the committee would complete the
chargesheet in three to four days.

The P.P.P. expects the President to resign before the
impeachment motion is submitted in parliament. The coalition
is still undecided if Musharraf should be given "safe passage"
if he decides to quit.

Information Minister Rehman said the leaders of the
coalition would decide on this issue. However, P.M.L.-N.
leader Ahsan Iqbal said hundreds of prisoners in jails should
also be pardoned if Musharraf is granted a safe exit.

Babar was of the opinion that Musharraf would quit before
the coalition moved the impeachment motion against him. "The
man will have to go. It is a political reality and impeachment
is just a legal and constitutional procedure to realise it,"
he said.

The P.P.P. has claimed that "dozens" of opposition
P.M.L.-Q. members are approaching the coalition and number of
lawmakers supporting the impeachment had reached almost 350 in
the 442-member joint house of the National Assembly and
Senate.

Iqbal, who too is a member of the committee drafting the
chargesheet, told reporters that the P.M.L.-N. had received
hundreds of emails and SMS messages demanding the open trial
of Musharraf. He said the chargesheet would run into hundreds
of pages. PTI RHL