Prez Musharraf charged with swindling $700 million
(NSI News Source Info) Sunday, August 10, 2008, (Islamabad, London): President Pervez Musharraf on Sunday faced charges of "misappropriating" USD 700 million of anti-terrror aid provided by the US to Pakistan on the eve of launching the process in Parliament to impeach him, as pressure mounted on the former General to quit.Firing a fresh salvo against the beleaguered former army chief, ruling PPP chief Asif Ali Zardari accused Musharraf, who has often targeted the country's politicians for indulging in corruption," of misappropriation and said "rogue" ISI members could have benefitted from it."Our grand old Musharraf has not been passing on all the 1 billion dollar a year that the Americans have been giving for the armed forces.... We're talking about 700 million dollars a year missing. The rest has been taken by 'Mush' for some scheme or other and we've got to find it," 54-year-old Zardari told the The Sunday Times.As the ruling coalition prepared a "comprehensive and solid" chargesheet to nail 64-year-old Musharraf down in an impeachment motion to be brought in the National Assembly session starting on Saturday, the President faced mounting pressure from friends and foes to step down.Cracks have already appeared in Musharraf's main ally PML(Q) with MP Sardar Bahadur Khan Sihar advising the President to gracefully quit and claiming to have "support" of a dozen MPs and a couple of senators. Four independent FATA senators have also asked Musharraf to quit and pledged to support the impeachment motion."We will prepare a comprehensive and solid chargesheet that Musharraf will not be able to fight it....it is very necessary that he resigns himself, otherwise the impeachment will start," Law Minister Farooq Naek said after the ruling coalition met to draw a battle plan to end Musharraf's nine-year reign.
Musharraf may face corruption, murder charges
(NSI News Source Info) ISLAMABAD, Aug 10, 2008: The government’s charge-sheet against President Pervez Musharraf will comprise hundreds of pages containing charges of misconduct, financial irregularities, violations of the Constitution and ‘criminal acts’ that could lead to an open trial, but the PPP expects the president to resign before the impeachment motion is submitted to parliament.The coalition is still undecided if President Musharraf should be given a ‘safe passage’ out of the country, discussions with leaders of the ruling parties suggest.PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar, who is a member of the committee which is drafting the charge-sheet, told Dawn that it had made “significant progress”.“It will be an unimpeachable document supported by documentary evidence of all the acts of omission and commission committed by (President) Musharraf that make him liable to impeachment several times,” Mr Babar said.“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.Mr Babar was of the opinion that President Musharraf would quit before the coalition parties 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 PPP leader claimed that dozens of PML-Q members were approaching the coalition and the number of legislators supporting the impeachment had almost reached 350 in the 442-member joint house of the National Assembly and the Senate.When asked if the coalition was ready to give a ‘safe passage’ to the president in return for his voluntary resignation, he said it would be up to parliament and the heads of the coalition parties to decide.Another member of the committee, Leader of the House in the Senate Raza Rabbani, said: “If the charge-sheet is put into River Ravi it will come into flood as far as gross irregularities and constitutional violations are concerned.”Pakistan Muslim League-N’s information secretary Ahsan Iqbal, who is also a member of the committee, told reporters that the party had received hundreds of emails and text messages demanding an open trial of President Musharraf. He said the charge-sheet would contain hundreds of pages.He said the impeachment had become a national issue because 86 per cent of the people wanted to see the president out of office.Another member of the committee said the charge-sheet would cover misconduct, subversion of the Constitution, imposition of emergency, attack on judiciary, missing persons, the Lal Masjid operation, corruption in the funds received from the US for supporting the war against terror, killing of Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti and detention of hundreds of youths in Balochistan without trial.Information Minister Sherry Rehman told reporters after a meeting of the committee held at her residence that the charge-sheet would soon be made public.She expressed the hope that the committee would complete its work in three to four days.She said PML-Q members had also advised the president not to use Article 58-2(b) which showed that they wanted President Musharraf to resign.PHONE CONVERSATION: Meanwhile, spokesman Farhatullah Babar said in a statement that the PPP was concerned over reports that Gen (retd) Musharraf had in a telephonic conversation warned its chairperson Benazir Bhutto that her life in Pakistan would be in danger if she did not extend him political cooperation.The revelation has been made in a recently published book, The Ways of the World, authored by Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Suskind.“The revelation, if true, lends enormous credence to what was generally talked about in the streets of Pakistan about the likely killers of Ms Bhutto. It also lends dramatic significance to the last email she had sent to her lobbyist in the US pointing out dangers to her life and indicating also who she suspected could be involved if something happened to her,” Mr Babar said.The PPP has already approached the United Nations for an investigation into her assassination and it hoped that the inquiry, whenever constituted, would also look into this horrendous revelation, he said, adding: “In the final analysis nothing remains secret and it is a law of the nature to expose the killers, the tyrants and the brigands in ways that one cannot even comprehend.”
US wants ‘honourable’ stay for President in Pakistan
(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON, Aug 10, 2008: The United States does not want to interfere in the impeachment process but should President Pervez Musharraf agree to step down, the Americans would like to ensure a secure and honourable stay for him in Pakistan.Diplomatic and US official sources, when contacted by Dawn, said that US Ambassador Anne Patterson had left for Islamabad on Saturday after consulting senior White House and State Department officials on this issue.She came to Washington in the last week of July to be present here during Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s visit to the US capital but stayed back for further consultations on the ruling coalition’s decision to impeach President Musharraf.Although the coalition announced the impeachment move after the prime minister had returned to Islamabad, diplomatic sources in Washington say that the Gilani government had consulted both the Americans and the army before making the move.According to these sources, the Americans told the Pakistanis that they want to stay neutral on this issue and would support any move which was “consistent with the rule of law and the Constitution,” as the State Department spokesman Gonzalo R. Gallegos said at a recent briefing.The cleverly crafted statement maintains America’s neutrality because while the Constitution allows impeachment, it also permits the president to undo the current political set-up.The Americans further emphasised their neutrality when approached by the Pakistani government to use its influence to persuade President Musharraf to step down.The Pakistani government wanted a senior US official or a lawmaker to call President Musharraf and urge him to quit.They reminded the Americans that they had used a similar approach against Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 when senior US officials and lawmakers publicly urged him to step down.But diplomatic sources say that the Americans are refusing to make any public statement for or against President Musharraf and instead want Pakistani politicians to tackle this issue without outside support.They, however, appear willing to use their influence to arrange for a secure and honourable stay for President Musharraf in Pakistan should he agree to quit, the sources said.A British media report -- re-published in American newspapers -- claims that President Musharraf is seriously considering a proposal to step down.US officials, when contacted by Dawn, refused to confirm or deny this report but other sources said that “President Musharraf has made it clear that he has no plans to leave Pakistan, whether he stays in power or not.”And, according to diplomatic sources, this is where the Americans are willing to help.“They have apparently agreed to help assure a secure and honourable stay for him in Pakistan,” said one such source. “They also want to ensure that the president should be given full indemnity should he agree to step down.”The source added: “This is more or less what the Pakistan army also wants.”Meanwhile, senior Pakistani diplomats are scheduled to hold further talks with US officials on the issue on Monday when President George W. Bush returns to Washington after a week-long tour of several Asian countries.Diplomatic sources say that the Pakistani government may directly appeal to President Bush to help defuse the current political crisis.The Americans also fear that a power struggle between pro-and anti-Musharraf forces could push nuclear-armed Pakistan into a protracted turmoil; prevent its shaky civilian government from moving against militants hiding in Fata; and even jeopardise vital US supply lines through Pakistan to Afghanistan.“There are elements within the US administration who would be very nervous about Musharraf leaving the scene, as they think the civilians are not in control of the army and ISI,” says Lisa Curtis, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.But it is also apparent that the Americans are not willing to take any public position on this issue. At least not yet.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Pakistan: Prez Musharraf charged with swindling $700 million
Prez Musharraf charged with swindling $700 million
(NSI News Source Info) Sunday, August 10, 2008, (Islamabad, London): President Pervez Musharraf on Sunday faced charges of "misappropriating" USD 700 million of anti-terrror aid provided by the US to Pakistan on the eve of launching the process in Parliament to impeach him, as pressure mounted on the former General to quit.Firing a fresh salvo against the beleaguered former army chief, ruling PPP chief Asif Ali Zardari accused Musharraf, who has often targeted the country's politicians for indulging in corruption," of misappropriation and said "rogue" ISI members could have benefitted from it."Our grand old Musharraf has not been passing on all the 1 billion dollar a year that the Americans have been giving for the armed forces.... We're talking about 700 million dollars a year missing. The rest has been taken by 'Mush' for some scheme or other and we've got to find it," 54-year-old Zardari told the The Sunday Times.As the ruling coalition prepared a "comprehensive and solid" chargesheet to nail 64-year-old Musharraf down in an impeachment motion to be brought in the National Assembly session starting on Saturday, the President faced mounting pressure from friends and foes to step down.Cracks have already appeared in Musharraf's main ally PML(Q) with MP Sardar Bahadur Khan Sihar advising the President to gracefully quit and claiming to have "support" of a dozen MPs and a couple of senators. Four independent FATA senators have also asked Musharraf to quit and pledged to support the impeachment motion."We will prepare a comprehensive and solid chargesheet that Musharraf will not be able to fight it....it is very necessary that he resigns himself, otherwise the impeachment will start," Law Minister Farooq Naek said after the ruling coalition met to draw a battle plan to end Musharraf's nine-year reign.
Musharraf may face corruption, murder charges
(NSI News Source Info) ISLAMABAD, Aug 10, 2008: The government’s charge-sheet against President Pervez Musharraf will comprise hundreds of pages containing charges of misconduct, financial irregularities, violations of the Constitution and ‘criminal acts’ that could lead to an open trial, but the PPP expects the president to resign before the impeachment motion is submitted to parliament.The coalition is still undecided if President Musharraf should be given a ‘safe passage’ out of the country, discussions with leaders of the ruling parties suggest.PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar, who is a member of the committee which is drafting the charge-sheet, told Dawn that it had made “significant progress”.“It will be an unimpeachable document supported by documentary evidence of all the acts of omission and commission committed by (President) Musharraf that make him liable to impeachment several times,” Mr Babar said.“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.Mr Babar was of the opinion that President Musharraf would quit before the coalition parties 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 PPP leader claimed that dozens of PML-Q members were approaching the coalition and the number of legislators supporting the impeachment had almost reached 350 in the 442-member joint house of the National Assembly and the Senate.When asked if the coalition was ready to give a ‘safe passage’ to the president in return for his voluntary resignation, he said it would be up to parliament and the heads of the coalition parties to decide.Another member of the committee, Leader of the House in the Senate Raza Rabbani, said: “If the charge-sheet is put into River Ravi it will come into flood as far as gross irregularities and constitutional violations are concerned.”Pakistan Muslim League-N’s information secretary Ahsan Iqbal, who is also a member of the committee, told reporters that the party had received hundreds of emails and text messages demanding an open trial of President Musharraf. He said the charge-sheet would contain hundreds of pages.He said the impeachment had become a national issue because 86 per cent of the people wanted to see the president out of office.Another member of the committee said the charge-sheet would cover misconduct, subversion of the Constitution, imposition of emergency, attack on judiciary, missing persons, the Lal Masjid operation, corruption in the funds received from the US for supporting the war against terror, killing of Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti and detention of hundreds of youths in Balochistan without trial.Information Minister Sherry Rehman told reporters after a meeting of the committee held at her residence that the charge-sheet would soon be made public.She expressed the hope that the committee would complete its work in three to four days.She said PML-Q members had also advised the president not to use Article 58-2(b) which showed that they wanted President Musharraf to resign.PHONE CONVERSATION: Meanwhile, spokesman Farhatullah Babar said in a statement that the PPP was concerned over reports that Gen (retd) Musharraf had in a telephonic conversation warned its chairperson Benazir Bhutto that her life in Pakistan would be in danger if she did not extend him political cooperation.The revelation has been made in a recently published book, The Ways of the World, authored by Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Suskind.“The revelation, if true, lends enormous credence to what was generally talked about in the streets of Pakistan about the likely killers of Ms Bhutto. It also lends dramatic significance to the last email she had sent to her lobbyist in the US pointing out dangers to her life and indicating also who she suspected could be involved if something happened to her,” Mr Babar said.The PPP has already approached the United Nations for an investigation into her assassination and it hoped that the inquiry, whenever constituted, would also look into this horrendous revelation, he said, adding: “In the final analysis nothing remains secret and it is a law of the nature to expose the killers, the tyrants and the brigands in ways that one cannot even comprehend.”
US wants ‘honourable’ stay for President in Pakistan
(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON, Aug 10, 2008: The United States does not want to interfere in the impeachment process but should President Pervez Musharraf agree to step down, the Americans would like to ensure a secure and honourable stay for him in Pakistan.Diplomatic and US official sources, when contacted by Dawn, said that US Ambassador Anne Patterson had left for Islamabad on Saturday after consulting senior White House and State Department officials on this issue.She came to Washington in the last week of July to be present here during Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s visit to the US capital but stayed back for further consultations on the ruling coalition’s decision to impeach President Musharraf.Although the coalition announced the impeachment move after the prime minister had returned to Islamabad, diplomatic sources in Washington say that the Gilani government had consulted both the Americans and the army before making the move.According to these sources, the Americans told the Pakistanis that they want to stay neutral on this issue and would support any move which was “consistent with the rule of law and the Constitution,” as the State Department spokesman Gonzalo R. Gallegos said at a recent briefing.The cleverly crafted statement maintains America’s neutrality because while the Constitution allows impeachment, it also permits the president to undo the current political set-up.The Americans further emphasised their neutrality when approached by the Pakistani government to use its influence to persuade President Musharraf to step down.The Pakistani government wanted a senior US official or a lawmaker to call President Musharraf and urge him to quit.They reminded the Americans that they had used a similar approach against Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 when senior US officials and lawmakers publicly urged him to step down.But diplomatic sources say that the Americans are refusing to make any public statement for or against President Musharraf and instead want Pakistani politicians to tackle this issue without outside support.They, however, appear willing to use their influence to arrange for a secure and honourable stay for President Musharraf in Pakistan should he agree to quit, the sources said.A British media report -- re-published in American newspapers -- claims that President Musharraf is seriously considering a proposal to step down.US officials, when contacted by Dawn, refused to confirm or deny this report but other sources said that “President Musharraf has made it clear that he has no plans to leave Pakistan, whether he stays in power or not.”And, according to diplomatic sources, this is where the Americans are willing to help.“They have apparently agreed to help assure a secure and honourable stay for him in Pakistan,” said one such source. “They also want to ensure that the president should be given full indemnity should he agree to step down.”The source added: “This is more or less what the Pakistan army also wants.”Meanwhile, senior Pakistani diplomats are scheduled to hold further talks with US officials on the issue on Monday when President George W. Bush returns to Washington after a week-long tour of several Asian countries.Diplomatic sources say that the Pakistani government may directly appeal to President Bush to help defuse the current political crisis.The Americans also fear that a power struggle between pro-and anti-Musharraf forces could push nuclear-armed Pakistan into a protracted turmoil; prevent its shaky civilian government from moving against militants hiding in Fata; and even jeopardise vital US supply lines through Pakistan to Afghanistan.“There are elements within the US administration who would be very nervous about Musharraf leaving the scene, as they think the civilians are not in control of the army and ISI,” says Lisa Curtis, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.But it is also apparent that the Americans are not willing to take any public position on this issue. At least not yet.
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