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Pakistan Parliament panel to draw up reforms package
The Speaker of the Pakistani National Assembly on Tuesday set up a special parliamentary committee to draw up a package of constitutional reforms to rectify the distortions made during the reign of military ruler Pervez Musharraf.
- By Shahid Hussain, Correspondent
- Published: 22:56 June 23, 2009
Islamabad: The Speaker of the Pakistani National Assembly on Tuesday set up a special parliamentary committee to draw up a package of constitutional reforms to rectify the distortions made during the reign of military ruler Pervez Musharraf.
Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza told a news conference she formed the 27-member committee after consultations with parliamentary leaders of all 15 parties represented in the parliament.
The panel would recommend reforms in the light of the Charter of Democracy signed in 2006 in London by former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto.
The charter envisages, among other things, the repeal of the 17th Amendment that Musharraf had inserted into the constitution to tilt the balance of power heavily in favour of president.
The parties of Sharif and Bhutto, who was assassinated in December 2007, won the general elections held in 2008 and forced Musharraf to step down as president.
Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), now the main opposition, has been demanding repeal of the 17th Amendment to take away sweeping president powers including discretionary authority to dissolve assembly.
President Asif Ali Zardari promised constitutional reforms in his first address to the parliament after his election last year, but follow-up action lacked while friction developed between PML-N and the ruling Pakistan People's Party.
The Speaker said she would host a luncheon for the committee members tomorrow where they would fix the date for the first sitting of the panel.
In their first meeting the members would elect a chairman of the committee, she added.
She said all the members were nominated by the parliamentary leaders of the political parties and she merely facilitated the process.
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