August 12, 2008	Tuesday	Sha'aban 9, 1429

LAHORE, Aug 11: The Punjab assembly on Monday adopted with an overwhelming majority a resolution asking the president to either obtain a vote of confidence or resign. The resolution called upon parliament to serve an impeachment notice if the president failed to accept the demand.

The resolution was adopted with 321 legislators voting for it and only 25 lawmakers opposing it.

The resolution secured 56 more votes than polled by Shahbaz Sharif when he was elected the chief minister. Mr Sharif had bagged 265 votes. The 56 extra votes show that the opposition had lost the support of another 22 members besides its ‘forward bloc’, which claims the support of 34 legislators.

As treasury members rose to vote and Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan asked the counting to begin, legislators shouted anti-Musharraf slogans. The resolution tabled by Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the assembly being part of the electoral college for the president, objected to the validity/legality of the elections held in October 2007 for the office of the president.

The resolution said: “The Punjab Assembly is of the view that General (retd) Pervez Musharraf is unfit to hold the office of the president by virtue of being guilty of violating the Constitution and/or gross misconduct on grounds, amongst other, that Gen (ret) Musharraf has subverted the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan twice by holding it in abeyance.

“He has violated and undermined the Constitution … and derailed the transition to democracy. In terms of Article 41(1) of the Constitution, the office of the president represents the unity of the republic. Gen (retd) Musharraf has violated the same and has caused to promote inter-provincial tension, a deepened sense of deprivation, denied provincial autonomy, thus leading to weakening the federation.

“The policies pursued by Gen (retd) Musharraf during the last eight years have brought Pakistan to the brink of a critical political and economic impasse. The incompetence and failure of his policies has 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”.

In the light of these observations, the Punjab assembly “calls upon Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf to take a vote of confidence from his electoral college or resign in terms of Article 44(3) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan immediately.

If he fails to do so, the PA said: “It calls upon the parliament to give a notice of impeachment in accordance with Article 47 of the Constitution”.

The assembly had suspended the sub-rule (2) of Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure to move the resolution.

After the adoption of the resolution, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the resolution had buried the dictatorship, Pervez Musharraf and his allies.

“Those who think that the Article 58(2)b could still be used should realise that the present assemblies had full mandate of the public.”