SWABI, July 3: All the major political parties have rejected the proposed constitutional package at a seminar held here on Wednesday, saying that the military regime has no power to change the basic character of the Constitution and convert the parliamentary form of government into presidential democracy.

The seminar was organized by the Abaseen Union of Journalists, on “constitutional amendments and political parties reaction” here on Wednesday.

The government has proposed certain amendments to the Constitution and sought political parties’ and public’s opinion about them.

PML (N) district president Iftikhar Ahmad Khan said that if the proposed amendments of the military regime were inserted in the constitution, it would destroy its basic character. It will violate the Supreme Court decision as the president will be empowered to dismiss the prime minister and his cabinet with a single stroke of pen, he added.

PPP (Sherpao) divisional general secretary Janas Khan said that the military regime could not amend the constitution. Such powers only rest with the elected parliament, he said, adding that the military rulers should only hold free and transparent elections under an impartial election commission and leave the amendments to be debated in the parliament.

JUI (F) former provincial general secretary Najeem Khan said when the judiciary had no right or powers to amend the constitution, how it could be done by a single person who got himself elected with a shady exercise. He said that the amendments were neither in favour of the country nor its future role.

The district general secretary of Mutahidda Majlis-i-Amal and Jamaat-i-Ismali leader, Mohammad Usman, said that the incumbent regime wanted to have a “controlled democracy” in the country. This approach was fraught with risks as the country was already confronted with numerous internal and external threats, he observed.

He said the JI had called for free and fair elections, impartial election commission, interim set-up and stoppage of agencies’ role in the election process.

Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf leader Asad Qaiser said that in the name of putting in place “checks and balances” the president and his supporters wanted to concentrate all powers in the person of Gen Pervez Musharraf.

President of People’s Lawyers Forum, Javed Iqbal, said that each dictator had introduced his own style of amendments and made efforts for keeping certain parties and leaders out of politics.

But if the proposed amendments were not backed by the political parties and the public, they would stand null and void, he added.

ANP leader Mohammad Rashid said that his party had already challenged the graduation condition for those aspiring to become members of the parliament or provincial assemblies in the apex court.