A senior figure in a party allied with President Pervez Musharraf says trying to impeach the former army strongman will “open a Pandora’s box.”

Meanwhile Friday, some Pakistani newspapers suggested Musharraf resign to spare the country a messy political battle.

The main parties in the ruling coalition announced Thursday they would seek to impeach Musharraf, whose supporters they defeated in February elections.

But Musharraf ally Mushahid Hussain warned “it is not going to be that easy” and promised his party would defend the president.

The U.S.-allied president has given no sign he’ll leave quietly.

The Nation newspaper said in an editorial “he can save the country a lot of trouble by resigning voluntarily.”