By IANS,
Islamabad : Indicating the new direction Pakistan’s political scene is taking, a former ally of beleaguered President Pervez Musharraf says it will support the move to impeach him if all those who had previously tampered with the constitution are similarly punished.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) “would never support the impeachment motion in parliament if it is meant only to target Pervez Musharraf but if the federal government devised a strategy to punish all those who abrogated the constitution, the MQM would support it”, The News Friday quoted party leader Haider Abbas Rizvi as saying.
The condition “matches” the manifesto and basic objectives of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which leads the country’s ruling coalition, “which clearly state that all those who abrogated the constitution at any time must be punished”, the newspaper noted.
According to Rizvi, “not only those who abrogated the constitution but also those who supported them in doing so should also be prosecuted under the law and just one person should not be attacked.
“If the government will move forward to try all those conspirators who abrogated or supported the abrogation, the MQM would definitely support the government in not only impeaching Musharraf but also trying all the former army men involved in such heinous crimes,” Rizvi added.
The Karachi based MQM previously ruled Sindh and supported the erstwhile federal government of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) that had Musharraf’s backing.
Both parties were defeated in the February general and provincial elections.
MQM leader Altaf Hussian lives in exile in London. Despite this, he attracts crowds of thousands whenever he addresses his supporters on the telephone.