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Political views Elections Parties President of Pakistan
Bibliography  Media related to Pervez Musharraf at Wikimedia Commons | ||
The effort to impeach Pervez Musharraf was an August 2008 attempt by opposition parties comprising the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N), Awami National Party (ANP), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam to force Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf out of office. On August 18, Musharraf announced his resignation.
On November 3, 2007, President and then-Chief of the Army Staff Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency, postponing indefinitely the elections for the National Assembly of Pakistan that were initially scheduled to take place on January 8, 2008. [1] The emergency announcement also contained news of the dismissal of Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, widely considered to have been motivated by a prediction that the Supreme Court was about to invalidate Musharraf's October reelection as President of Pakistan in uniform. [2] This action, combined with a broad-based pro-democracy movement occurring in Pakistan at the time, led to a precipitous fall in Musharraf's popularity. [2] Following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistani Election Commission announced that the election would occur on February 18. [3] The elections were won by the PPP and the PML-N, two parties hostile to Musharraf and his Pakistan Muslim League (Q) party.[ citation needed ]
On August 7, 2008, the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (N) agreed to ask Musharraf to get the Vote of Confidence from the National and Provisional Assemblies or step down, and began his impeachment. Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif announced that the two parties would be sending a joint request asking that Musharraf step down, and that they would impeach him through the parliamentary process if he refused. Musharraf, however, said, "I will defeat those who try to push me to the wall. If they use their right to oust me, I have the right to defend myself." [4] Upon hearing the news, Musharraf delayed his departure for the Beijing Olympics by a day, [5] and it was later announced that he would be replaced at the opening ceremonies by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. [6] The government summoned the National Assembly for a session on August 11 to begin the impeachment proceedings. [7] Capt. Wasif Syed, spokesman for the Pakistan People's Party, confirmed the announcement, saying, "A decision has been made that he has to go now, and all the parties have agreed on this point." [8] To impeach Musharraf, the ruling coalition would have needed a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, and it was not certain that they control the required number of votes. [9] Musharraf had the option to fight his impeachment by dissolving parliament, although doing so could cause a backlash, and he would likely need the support of Pakistan's army to be successful. [9]
Zardari announced on TV that the impeachment would be under Article 47 of the Pakistani Constitution. This provides the process for impeachment, but he did not mention the grounds. The 2007 impeachment proceedings, which led to the imposition of emergency rule, were based upon the provisions prohibiting the President of Pakistan from holding "an office of profit" from the Pakistan Government.[ citation needed ]
Pakistan's ruling coalition, on August 16, gave Musharraf a Tuesday, August 19 deadline to resign. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Musharraf must resign to avoid being impeached "by today or tomorrow, as there is no room for any delay". Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar announced that "the charge sheet will be presented in parliament by Tuesday." No president has ever been impeached in Pakistan's 61-year history. [10] Presidential aides, however, said Musharraf refused to leave office under pressure. [11] Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman Asif Zardari said that the next president of the country may very well be a woman, denying he was a presidential candidate: "I would have become the prime minister if I wished to become president." [12] Nawaz Sharif said: "I am not personally interested. It should go to a person who actually enjoys the support of the people of Pakistan. I think best would be somebody from Balochistan of course there is a sense of deprivation in the province of Balochistan, perhaps that will be a better choice." [13]
On August 18, 2008, in a speech defending his record, Musharraf announced that he would resign. [14] In the August 18 negotiations which failed over the legal technicalities, he sought immunity from prosecution if he had resigned before the impeachment proceedings. On asylum, Condoleezza Rice on "Fox News Sunday" said that "Musharraf would not be going to the United States. This is an issue that is not on the table." Musharraf stated he would stay in Pakistan in a house he was building in an exclusive enclave in Islamabad near a golf club. [15]
Musharraf, 65, announced his resignation, in a 1 p.m. televised address to avoid impeachment: "After viewing the situation and consulting legal advisers and political allies, with their advice I have decided to resign. I leave my future in the hands of people. Not a single charge in the impeachment can stand against me. No charge can be proved against me because I never did anything for myself, it was all for Pakistan. On the map of the world, Pakistan is now an important country, by the grace of Allah. Whether I win or lose the impeachment, the nation will lose. They don’t realize they can succeed against me but the country will undergo irreparable damage. My resignation will go to the speaker of the National Assembly today." In an emotional 1 hour speech, Musharraf raised his clenched fists to chest height, and said, "Long live Pakistan!" Nasir Ali Khan, a senior member of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, said Musharraf will stay in Pakistan, a request he had insisted on. The Constitution provided that a new president must be chosen within 30 days. [16] [17] The resignation permitted the 4-month-old coalition government to choose a new president by a vote of the Parliament and provincial assemblies. [18] US-based Newsweek magazine reported that "the president would 'fly into exile in Saudi Arabia, where he is to remain for the next three months." [19] The British Daily Telegraph reported an unnamed Western diplomat as saying that, after a pilgrimage to Mecca, Musharraf might settle in London.[ citation needed ]
Pakistan's Election Commission on August 22 announced that Presidential elections were to be held on September 6, and the nomination papers could be filed from August 26. [20] President Asif Ali Zardari was elected by the 2 houses of parliament and the 4 provincial assemblies on September 9. [21]
President Pervez Musharraf went into exile on 23 August, 2008. He arrived in London on 24 August, 2008. [22]
Pervez Musharraf was a Pakistani military officer and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008.
Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo is a Pakistani politician. Wattoo was first elected, in 1985, the Speaker of Provincial Assembly of the Punjab. Thrice elected to the same office, he secured the office of the Chief Minister of Punjab, Pakistan in 1993 on the ticket of Pakistan Muslim League (J), after a series of tug of war between the federal and provincial government Wattoo twice had to leave office between his term only to leave office permanently on 16 November 1996.
The Pakistan People's Party is a centre-left political party in Pakistan, currently being the largest in the Senate and second-largest party in the National Assembly. The party was founded in 1967 in Lahore, when a number of prominent left-wing politicians in the country joined hands against the rule of Ayub Khan, under the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. It is affiliated with the Socialist International. The PPP's platform was formerly socialist, and its stated priorities continue to include transforming Pakistan into a social-democratic state, promoting egalitarian values, establishing social justice, and maintaining a strong military. It, alongside the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, is one of the three largest political parties of Pakistan.
The Pakistan Muslim League (N) abbreviated as PML (N), (Urdu: پاکستان مسلم لیگ (ن)) is a centre-right, conservative liberal political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate and the largest in the National Assembly. The party was founded in 1993, when a number of prominent conservative politicians in the country joined hands after the dissolution of Islamic Democratic Alliance, under the leadership of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The party's platform is generally conservative, which involves supporting free markets, deregulation, lower taxes and private ownership. Although the party historically supported social conservatism, in recent years, the party's political ideology and platform has become more liberal on social and cultural issues; however, members have been accused of using Islamist populist rhetoric. Alongside the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP), it is one of the three major political parties of the country.
The Pakistan Muslim League Urdu: پاکستان مسلم لیگ (ق); Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf), Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League" is a political party in Pakistan. As of the 2024 parliamentary election, it has a representation of five seats. It previously served as an ally of former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf's government, and led a joint election campaign in 2013 alongside Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Punjab and Balochistan provinces against its rival Pakistan Muslim League (N), a fiscally conservative and centre-right force.
The president of Pakistan is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The presidency is a ceremonial position in Pakistan. The president is bound to act on advice of the prime minister and cabinet. Asif Ali Zardari is the current president since 10 March 2024.
Makhdoom Muhammad Javed Hashmi, is a Pakistani politician, political realist, and a senior conservative thinker on the platform of Pakistan Muslim League (N).
Asif Ali Zardari is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 10 March 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party from December 2007 until December 2015.
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is a Pakistani jurist who served as the 20th Chief Justice of Pakistan over three non-consecutive terms from 29 June 2005 to 11 December 2013.
Muhammad Mian Soomro is a Pakistani politician, banker and senator who has served as Chairman of the Senate, Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan and Acting President of Pakistan. He also served as the 26th Governor of Sindh and as Federal Minister for Privatization.
Yusuf Raza Gilani is a Pakistani politician who served as the 16th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 2008 to 2012. He is currently the Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan since 9 April 2024. Gilani was re-elected on 14 March 2024 after receiving 204 votes and currently is a Senator of the Senate of Pakistan.
General elections were held in Pakistan on 18 February 2008 to elect members of the 13th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies.
Saeed Uz Zaman Siddiqui was a Pakistani jurist and legislator of great prominence who formerly served as the 15th Chief Justice of Pakistan and, prior to that, the 7th Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court. At the time of his death, he was serving as the 31st Governor of Sindh.
The All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) was a Pakistani political alliance consisting of thirty-two parties opposed to the military rule of Pervez Musharraf. Some parties boycotted the elections.
Malik Mohammad Qayyum was a Pakistani lawyer who was Senior Advocate Supreme Court and Attorney General of Pakistan. He was replaced by Senator Latif Khosa when President Pervez Musharraf resigned on 18 August 2008. He became Attorney General following the resignation of Makhdoom Ali Khan. He was a Judge of the Lahore High Court, which he resigned from after a phone transcript of his was released in which he was alleged to be approached by the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government to fix judgement in a case before him involving Benazir Bhutto. Qayyum denied that the voice in the telephone conversation was his. Agencies have examined the tapes and have expressed their concern that they could have been doctored although no final verdict is available.
Events from the year 2008 in Pakistan.
Bhurban Accord was a political agreement signed by two of Pakistan's biggest political powers, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) and was signed by co-chairman of the PPP Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif it was signed on 8 March 2008 in PC Bhurban in the province of Punjab.
An indirect presidential election was held on 6 September 2008 in Pakistan. The Electoral College of Pakistan – a joint sitting of the Senate, National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies – elected a new president after the resignation of President Pervez Musharraf. As required by the constitution, Muhammad Mian Soomro automatically became acting president on 18 August 2008, upon the resignation of Musharraf. The constitution required that a new president be elected by Parliament within 30 days; Soomro was considered loyal to Musharraf, and it was considered certain that he would be replaced in that election.
Pakistan–Palestine relations refer to the bilateral relations between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the State of Palestine. The Palestinian Authority established an embassy in Islamabad on 31 January 2017. Pakistan remains a staunch supporter of the proposal for the continuation of the Palestinian state, and in line with its pro-Palestinian approach, Pakistan does not recognize the State of Israel. However, former President Pervez Musharraf stated that Pakistan will recognize Israel if the latter withdraws its forces from some of the occupied territories and allows the remaining Palestinian land to continue to exist, within the Green Line that served as the international border between the occupation force, Israel, and the Palestine from the First Arab–Israeli War of 1948 to the Third Arab–Israeli War of 1967. Pakistan frequently provides various forms of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian Authority.
Presidential elections were held on 30 July 2013 in Pakistan to elect the 12th President of Pakistan. Incumbent President Asif Ali Zardari’s term was scheduled to expire on 8 September 2013; and as such, Article 41 of the Constitution of Pakistan required the elections to be held no later than 8 August 2013. The Electoral College of Pakistan – a joint sitting of the Senate, National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies – were tasked with electing a new president to succeed President Zardari, who declined to seek a second term in office. After the Pakistan Peoples Party and its allies boycotted the presidential election, the two candidates were Mamnoon Hussain backed by the Pakistan Muslim League (N), and Wajihuddin Ahmed backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Agra-born Hussain was elected president by a majority securing 432 votes. The elections were the first time in Pakistani history where a civilian president was elected while an incumbent civilian President was still in office, completing a historic and democratic transition of power that began with the 2013 General Elections.
