PESHAWAR, Aug 12 The PPP-S of Aftab Sherpao, the interior minister in the Shaukat Aziz government, broke ranks with the alliance which had ruled the country since the 2002 elections and voted for a resolution in the NWFP assembly calling upon President Pervez Musharraf to either take a vote of confidence from the assembly or quit his office.

The resolution which was adopted with 107 votes in favour with four against said “If he (President Musharraf) fails to do so, we call upon and urge parliament to give him a notice of impeachment under Article 47 of the Constitution.”

It accused Gen (retd) Musharraf of subverting the Constitution twice by holding it in abeyance, derailing the democratic process, fuelling inter-provincial tension, going back on his promise on the issue of uniform and being a party to large-scale killings of innocent people across the province and in Fata.

Senior Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour of the Awami National Party tabled the resolution which said that the Pukhtoonkhwa assembly was part of the electoral college which had elected the President of Pakistan. Most members of this house, he said, had objected to the validity and legality of the presidential election held in Oct 2007.

“We are of the view that Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf is unfit to hold the office of the president, being guilty of violating the Constitution of Pakistan.”

The resolution cites five grounds for removal of the president from his office.

— That Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf has subverted the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan twice by holding it in abeyance.

— He has violated and undermined the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and derailed the transition to democracy.

— That president represents the unity of the republic, but Gen Musharraf has violated the same and caused to promote inter-provincial tension, a deepened sense of deprivation, denied provincial autonomy, thus leading to the weakening of the federation.

— That the policies pursued by Mr Musharraf during the last eight years have brought Pakistan to the brink of a critical political and economic impasse. The incompetence and failures of his policies have plunged the country into the worst power shortage in its history and brought unprecedented misery upon the people. His policies have paralysed the federation and eroded the trust of the nation in key national institutions. Moreover, it is a matter of record that Mr Musharraf had made a public pledge before the nation (widely covered by print and electronic media) that he will doff his uniform by Dec 31, 2004. But he went back on the promise and betrayed the nation.

— The blatant anti-Pakhtoon policies of President Pervez Musharraf have led to serious economic deprivation and security crises in the province and Fata. The flawed internal and external policies of his dictatorial regime have resulted in the large-scale murder of innocent people of the province and Fata.

Senior minister and provincial president of Pakistan People's Party Rahimdad Khan, Leader of the Opposition Akram Khan Durrani and provincial president of PML-N Pir Sabir Shah, co-movers of the resolution, also addressed the session.

While reading out the resolution, Mr Sabir Shah called the province NWFP, instead of Pukhtoonkhwa. He said that after impeachment, Mr Musharraf should be tried in a court of law for killing innocent children in Lal Masjid and tribesmen in parts of Fata and selling more than 600 Pakistanis to US intelligence agencies.

While four PML-Q legislators voted against the resolution, two MPAs of the party, Sanaullah Khan Miankhel of D.I. Khan and Fazallullah Khan of Shangla district, a relative of PML-Q provincial chief Amir Muqam Khan, abstained. When the speaker sought their opinion they left the house.

Shazia Aurangzeb of the PML-N displayed a large portrait of Mr Musharraf and then tore it into pieces and gave a piece to Nighat Orakzai of the PML-Q, who was the only member raising slogans in favour of Mr Musharraf.

Ms Aurangzeb and other women members shouted in chorus “Go Musharraf Go”.

Besides Ms Orakzai, the PML-Q lawmakers who voted against the resolution are Qalandar Khan Lodhi, Ghulam Mohammad Khan and Zahir Shah. Inayatullah Jadoon of PML-N, Khurshdil Khan of ANP, Wajihuzzaman Khan of PML-Q and Mufti Kifayatullah of the MMA were on leave and provincial minister Syed Aaqil Shah, Khalifa Abdul Qayyum and Saquibullah Chamkani were absent.

The speaker adjourned the proceedings of the house till Wednesday.