Coalition agrees to impeach Musharraf

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Pakistan's ruling coalition has agreed to impeach President Pervez Musharraf in an unprecedented move hailed as "good news for democracy."

"It has become imperative to move for impeachment against Gen. Musharraf," Pakistan Peoples' Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said Thursday.

"The coalition confirmed the resolve that democratic forces will work jointly to making a transition to genuine democracy," he said, standing beside Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Nawaz Sharif, who was overthrown as prime minister by Musharraf in a 1999 bloodless coup.

Zardari, widower of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, declared the impeachment agreement "good news for democracy" in Pakistan, CNN reported.

He claimed Musharraf had "conspired" with the opposition party against Pakistan's democratic transition after his party lost elections in February.

Musharraf also "brought Pakistan to a critical economical impasse" and "eroded the trust of the nation in national institutions," Zardari alleged.

Musharraf will be given an opportunity to step down before confronting impeachment proceedings. He could also fight the impeachment by dismissing Parliament, but must have the army's agreement, former information minister Tariq Azim Khan told The New York Times.

Musharraf will be replaced by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing, the state-run news agency reported.