Opposition parties on Monday called for the resignation of General Pervez Musharraf as well those associated with the NGOs given that it has suffered a total crisis of legitimacy and has lost any mandate to continue its rule.
PMLN-N leader MNA Rana Mehmood-ul-Hassan, MPA Nafees Ahmed Ansari, PPP MNA Malik Liaquat Ali Dogar, Begum Nasim Chaudhry, MPAs Dr Javed Siddiqui, Syed Nazim Hussain Shah made this demand in their separate statements issued here on Monday. They said that it is a true reflection of the role that the military has played in Pakistan's sorry political history that all three long-running military regimes, namely that of Ayub, Zia and Musharraf, have all gone into gradual decline yet none of the generals were willing to step down gracefully.
They said that this is a mark of dictatorial regimes whereas under even nominally democratic systems, a government accepts that it can only stay in power for the electoral term and no longer. Legislators warned that if the present rulers do not resign they would eventually be forced out and this would be reflected by a legacy of mediocrity.
They reiterated his long-standing demand for reduction of the budget dedicated to the military and said that until and unless the Pakistani people reconsider their commitment to the ideology of national security, the military would always retain a mandate to rule this country.
They stressed the need for the momentum that was generated by the lawyer-led movement for the restoration of the Chief Justice to be revived. They said that in the coming weeks there is a need to take to streets against Musharraf's so-called re-election to the presidency in uniform.