As Mr. Asif Ali Zardari is set to address the joint session of the parliament next month, the government would like to precede this important occasion by repealing the 17th Amendment in the constitution.
The amendment which was incorporated by General Pervez Musharaf, ex president of Pakistan, has given wide-ranging powers to the president as compared to the directly elected prime minister and the parliament. Its repeal has been the pressing demand of opposition, particularly the Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N), led by Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. Mr Zardari’s address to the joint session of the parliament is a constitutional obligation upon him and will be the 3rd one after his assumption of the office. After a recent row with the apex judiciary on matters of NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) and the appointment of judges, Mr. Zardari is not likely to take chances of confronting the opposition on this issue now.
PML-N has already hinted that if 17th Amendment is not repealed by 23rd March 10, the party will launch a protest movement against the government. The Constitutional Reforms Committee has already completed most of the work. It is hoped that the government of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) will resolve this crisis amicably as it has done in the case of judge’s appointment in the superior judiciary.
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