Pakistan was on tenterhooks Friday with three key players emerging in what could be a messy and lengthy impeachment process against President Pervez Musharraf. That is, if Musharraf does not resign, does not dissolve parliament, does not declare a state of emergency, or if the army does not intervene to try and prevent a worsening political, economic and security situation in the nuclear-armed country. The three are: Jamiat Ulemae Islam (JUI) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman; Makhdoom Amin Fahim, the lone dissident in the key coalition partner, Pakistan People's Party of Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari; and Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, who met with his corps commanders in Rawalpindi, Friday. A military spokesman said Kiyani's meeting with his corps commanders, which began on Thursday, was a regular gathering.. “They will, of course, look at it (the political situation) with concern but it depends upon whether it's going to be smooth or it's going to be turned into a mess,” said Ayaz Amir, an anti-Musharraf politician in the National Assembly, and a former army major. Musharraf's aides and allies meanwhile said he was meeting his legal team to defend himself against impeachment, which could begin as early as Monday – the president's 65th birthday. On Friday he received vital support from Mushahid Hussain. “We will prepare a case, the president should be there (in parliament) and defend himself, and at least say ‘I am not a crook,'” said Hussain, secretary general of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q party, speaking from London. With the PML-Q making its stand clear for the time being, the spotlight fell on Fazlur Rehman and Makhdoom Amin Fahim. The ruling alliance needs 295 members in a 442-member joint session of parliament. The coalition leaders claim that they have the support of 303 members at the moment but Zardari is confident that they will secure the support of more than 350 MPs to impeach Musharraf. The role and movements of a large number of parliamentarians of the two sides would be keenly watched in the days to come. Fazlur Rehman has a major chunk of JUI voters (20 plus). If they don't vote for the impeachment motion, it would be defeated. Similarly, the 14 votes of the Awami National Party (ANP) are of no less significance for both sides. The deliberate absence of Rehman from Thursday's news conference that Zardari and Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party jointly addressed, clearly reflected that all was not well with the JUI chief. He has the capability to swing to any side given the benefits he would receive. Then again, the loud dissent of Makhdoom Amin Fahim with his PPP party and his open rejection of the impeachment move suggest that he could gather like-minded PPP lawmakers to go with him in the crucial vote, if at all it takes place. Time will be essence for the fate of the impeachment motion if it is moved on Monday. The Speaker will then have to call the parliamentary session between Aug, 18 and Aug. 25 at the earliest. The process from then on up to the vote will take nearly a month, or even longer – time enough for both Musharraf or the coalition government to engage in horse-trading so typical of coalition politics. No such motion has ever been moved or debated in parliament in Pakistan's history. Farooq Leghari had stepped down when the second Nawaz Sharif government had threatened him with an impeachment motion. Musharraf would be the first president if he confronts such a resolution. __
