The leaders of Pakistan’s ruling coalition announced last Thursday that they will initiate an impeachment motion against President Pervez Musharraf in parliament on August 11. The co-chair of the Pakistan People’s Party, Asif Ali Zardari, declared that this move was imperative. He then went on to accuse Musharraf of bringing Pakistan to an economic impasse, breaking his commitment to resign after his party lost the February elections, and conspiring with opposition parties against the nation’s democratic transition.

If Musharraf decides not to willingly resign, it will take a two-thirds majority vote from both houses of the parliament to finalize the impeachment proceedings and force him to step down as president.

Retired military general Talat Masood claims that the Pakistani president could face a public backlash if he tries to exercise his constitutional power to dissolve parliament in an effort to forestall impeachment. To exercise this power, Musharraf would need the support of the Pakistani Army. Both Masood and Pakistan Muslim League Secretary General Iqbal Jhagra think Musharraf does not carry enough military support these days to make such a decision.

Last November, America’s leaders were telling Musharraf to resign from the military and give real democratic freedom to Pakistan. They ignored the fact that the military was the only institution that gave stability to this extremely divided country. Now Musharraf has resigned from the military and transferred most of his power to the Pakistani parliament. The result is that the jihadists are running practically unchecked throughout the nation while the government is plagued by bickering and division.

The decision to impeach Musharraf will undoubtedly cause more political division and instability. In the words of Pakistani politician Mushahid Hussain, “This decision about President Musharraf’s impeachment is going to open a Pandora’s box.” The only likely winner in this situation will be the terrorists.

This threat is all the more serious when you consider what Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in our January 2008 print edition: “Pakistanalso has the nuclear bomb and could be taken over by radical Islam, with plenty of help from Iran. That means it could become a proxy of the Iranian mullahs. This would be the worst possible disaster!”

For more information about the threat that Pakistani instability poses to the world, read “Pakistan and the Shah of Iran” by Gerald Flurry.