The ruling coalition plans to put up a public show of its power in the parliament to establish that it has more than the mandatory numbers to carry an impeachment resolution against President Pervez Musharraf. “We will publicly demonstrate our numerical superiority even before the actual voting on the motion in the joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate,” a senior alliance leader, who is involved in lobbying and garnering support in favor of the impeachment move, told Saudi Gazette. He said the venue of such show would be the real seat of democratic and people's power – the parliament building. An expansive committee room or the cafeteria of the parliament premises that can accommodate a large number of MPs will be selected for this manifestation, he said. Another coalition leader said that the display of strength would be organized after different elements of the alliance mainly belonging to the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and provincial governments of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan would complete their homework. But the show will certainly be held much before the ballot. He said that since the word go the coalition has been in a comfortable position to show its strength but it thought that it would be more worthwhile and powerful if the swelled numbers were exhibited together so that no disclaimer of its majority has the ground to stand. The coalition leader said that the alliance profoundly took into consideration its tally before deciding to go for the impeachment of Musharraf. He said it would definitely have not chosen this course had it been unsure and insecure about its strength. “We discussed all the lowdown on our strategy.” The alliance's show of power would not be an unusual development on Pakistan's parliamentary horizon. Every party indulges in such activity on such occasions. Demands, commitments and offers have always been the order of the day in such tricky milieus. This exercise is generally intended to signal an unambiguous message to the fence sitters and would be or could be defectors, who abound in the present scenario, to make a better deal at the appropriate time rather than wasting their votes. Such activity is also meant to exert pressure on the other side to bow out instead of facing the humiliation of defeat in the voting. Previously shows of strength were held more than three times during the eighties and nineties when no confidence motions were brought against the prime minister and chief ministers. However, all these no trust resolutions failed to drive out their targets from power. __
