Lawmakers consider proposals to reduce Musharraf's power

Islamabad: Lawmakers are likely to consider proposals on reducing the powers of President Pervez Musharraf during a meeting of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party on Monday.

The proposals have been drawn up by the main partner in the country's ruling coalition, led by Asif Ali Zardari.

The parties of Sharif and Zardari both consider Musharraf an archrival with too many powers. But the two parties have disagreed over whether restoring dozens of judges ousted by Musharraf should be linked to broader legal reforms.

The president, a longtime US ally who seized power in a 1999 coup, has faced stepped-up pressure to resign in recent days but has resisted it. A break-up of the
two-month-old coalition would further plunge into political turmoil a country considered crucial to US goals in the war on terror.

Few specific details have been released about the proposed constitutional changes that Zardari's party has crafted. The party chief has indicated, however, that they would
include stripping Musharraf of the right to dissolve the country's parliament and to appoint military chiefs.

Law Minister Farooq Naek, a Zardari ally, delivered the proposals to Sharif on Sunday. He described the proposals as a set of "suggestions," and said Sharif's party and
other parties in the coalition were welcome to offer alternatives.

Naek said the package "says that the judges' restoration should be according to the constitution and through a constitutional amendment."

However, Sharif has already withdrawn his ministers from the Cabinet over Zardari's insistence that laws have to be changed before the government can reinstate the judges.

Sharif's party said it would not comment on the latest proposals until it had a chance to thoroughly review the package. A meeting of party officials on Monday in the capital, Islamabad, could broach the topic.

Sadiqul Farooq, a spokesman for Sharif's party, said it still believed that the judges could be brought back through a parliamentary resolution, followed by an order
from the prime minister.

"We still believe that restoration of the judiciary should not be part of this constitutional package," the spokesman said.

Musharraf declared emergency rule last year and fired the judges. Critics said it was a step to halt legal challenges to his presidency. Zardari and Sharif's parties defeated
the president's allies in February elections.

Another Sharif party spokesman, Pervez Rasheed, linked the party's approval of the package to backing from the popular lawyers' movement, which has agitated for the judges' return.

The lawyers plan a series of protests in June to press their demands and have held rallies to build momentum in recent days.