Islamabad , April 8: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari was Thursday stripped of his power to sack elected legislatures and governments as the National Assembly approved repeal of the law enabling this.
This law was incorporated in the Pakistan Constitution by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to strengthen his grip on power.
The legislature also approved a provision changing the name of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) to Khyber Pakhtoonkhaw.
“The amendment will take effect, of course, after approval by the Senate and the signature of the President, but the President cannot now exercise this power as one House has approved its repeal,” a senior legal expert told this newspaper.
Mr Zardari was, of course, never expected to use this law against the current government as it is led by his own Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The President, however, is due to remain in office till six months after the PPP completes its tenure in 2013 and could theoretically have used this power to unseat a non-PPP government.
Section 17 of the law was unanimously adopted, amending Article 58 of the Constitution. Under this section, the President and provincial governors have been divested of the power to dissolve national and provincial legislatures. This power has now been delegated to the Prime Minister at the national level and the chief ministers in the provinces, and the President and governors will be required to act on their advice in this regard.
Shafqat Ali