August 5, 2002	Monday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 25,1423

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

ISLAMABAD, Aug 4: President Gen Pervez Musharraf will begin consultations with his legal aides on Monday to take final decision about the proposed constitutional amendments.

The indications are that except for proposals about discretionary powers to dissolve the parliament, appoint the services chiefs and establishment of the National Security Council, majority of the remaining proposals would be left for the next parliament to decide.

Official sources told Dawn that the president would meet his legal aides, led by Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, and discuss the proposed amendments prepared by the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB).

It is learnt that upper hierarchy of the government was having second thoughts after receiving the reaction on the proposed amendments, which was least expected by it.

The government, sources said, had been advised by its top legal advisers, Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada and Attorney-General Makhdoom Ali Khan, that it should go for minimum possible amendments and should not attempt to rewrite the Constitution.

The government was also advised that the whole NRB plan of strengthening the federation was a flawed one, and it could not be attained by tampering with the consensus document.

It was pointed out that 1973 Constitution was valued not for its provisions, but for being a consensus document on which all the federating units agreed. “The 1973 constitution has attained the value of a covenant between the federating units,” the source said.

The official sources, however, ruled out the possibility of the idea of the National Security Council being dropped as the president believes that by formalising the role of military, sustainable democracy could be achieved.

The proposals to change Senate’s character have already been taken back as the old electoral college has been revived.

The sources said except for the revival of 58(2)(B), powers to appoint services chiefs, formation of the National Security Council, increase in the number of seats in the national and provincial assemblies, increase in the number of seats in the Senate, reserved seats for women and minorities to be part of joint electorate and some minor changes to improve the working of existing constitutional bodies like the Council of Common Interest, the National Economic Council, the remaining proposed amendments would be left for the next parliament.

The government was soft on the minimum educational qualification, a brainchild of the NRB chief Lt-Gen Tanvir Naqvi (retired), was in quandary as the Supreme Court had given a decision approving it.

The government, sources said, would not like to embarrass the Supreme Court by taking it back, which delivered the verdict on “merits” and not on “technical grounds.”