August 17, 2008	Sunday	Sha'aban 14, 1429

KARACHI, Aug 16: The secretary-general of the Pakistan People’s Party, Sindh, Nafees Siddiqui, on Saturday claimed that President Pervez Musharraf would tender his resignation before Aug 22 as his allies had abandoned him to face charges and impeachment.

He was speaking at a press conference, which was also attended by PPP leaders Waqar Mehdi, Faisal Abidi, Saeed Ghani, Arshad Naqvi, Khalid Latif, Haji Nazim and others.

“All four provincial assemblies have passed resolutions against him,” he said, adding that under the constitution the chairman of the senate would become the acting president and later the parliament would elect a new president.

The PPP leader said that President Musharraf was a symbol of dictatorship and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and all the allied parties had firmly decided to remove him.

Mr Siddiqui also claimed that President Musharraf would resign prior to his impeachment so as to avoid accountability.

He said that Benazir Bhutto wished to establish true democracy and the rule of law in the country, for which she struggled and sacrificed her life.

Blaming the president for all the problems facing the nation, he said that after his removal the democratic government would concentrate towards the resolution of all the problems.—PPI