ISLAMABAD, March 24 The Supreme Court allowed the Pakistan Lawyers' Forum (PLF) on Wednesday to amend its petition seeking trial of former president Pervez Musharraf for treason.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and comprising Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Rahmat Hussain Jafferi, Justice Tariq Pervez and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday was hearing review petitions of the PLF challenging the 17th Amendment to the Constitution and the Legal Framework Order.

Advocate A.K. Dogar argued that Gen (retd) Musharraf should face proceedings under Article 6 (high treason) for violating a Supreme Court order by changing the basic structure of the Constitution through the amendment.

He said the court had held in the Mahmood Khan Achakzai case and emphasised in several other cases that even parliament could not change the basic features of the Constitution -- independence of judiciary, federalism and a parliamentary form of governance blended with Islamic provisions.

The lawyer said that although some of the pleadings in the review petition had become irrelevant since the former president handed over power to a civilian government, certain issues were alive, including he 17th Amendment.

Since the amendment had not yet been repealed, the former president should be tried under Article 6, he said.

The chief justice suggested that the counsel should wait till parliament came up with proposals for amending the 17th Amendment.