Islamabad, Feb. 9: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari may become a figurehead before March 23, celebrated as Pakistan Day, official sources said.
"Prime Minister (Yousuf Raza) Gilani has begun efforts to create a consensus on repealing the 17th Amendment (which empowers Mr Zardari to sack the elected Assemblies) before the presidential address to the joint sitting of Parliament," a government official said.
He added, "The Prime Minister talked over the phone to PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and Awami National Party president Asfandyar Wali Khan on Monday night and discussed the constitutional amendments being debated by the parliamentary committee on constitutional reforms."
The official said both Mr Asfandyar Wali Khan and Mr Sharif expressed confidence that the issue of renaming the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) would be finalised soon.
The PML-N and ANP have already formed a joint committee to build consensus on the issue but so far no progress has been achieved. However, sources indicated that Mr Sharif and Mr Asfandyar Wali Khan would meet soon to resolve the issue.
According to sources, Prime Minister Gilani had already directed the chairman of the committee on constitutional reforms, Mian Raza Rabbani, to speed up the process so that it could be passed by Parliament before March 23 this year.
Sources said only three issues remain unresolved — the appointment of judges in the superior courts in accordance with the Charter of Democracy (CoD), provincial autonomy and renaming of the NWFP. Sources said the committee in its meeting on Wednesday will take up the issue of appointment of judges, as proposed by the CoD signed between the ruling Pakistan People’s Party and the PML-N.
Shafqat Ali