ISLAMABAD: The Constitution is expected to be amended before the emergency is lifted on December 15 to give more powers to President Pervez Musharraf to act against judges of the superior judiciary, Attorney General Malik Qayyum said.The order for withdrawing the emergency will be finalised till Thursday (Today) and is likely to be issued on Saturday, Qayyum said after a meeting with Musharraf to discuss modalities for ending the emergency rule. The order will also revoke the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) that Musharraf had issued after imposing Emergency on November 3. The PCO had suspended the Constitution and key fundamental rights, including the freedom of the press, and resulted in the dismissal of judges who did not endorse the Emergency. Qayyum said "hectic discussions" were underway to finalise the order to revoke the PCO. Musharraf and his legal advisors are also discussing several amendments to the Constitution that will be made before ending the emergency, Dawn News channel quoted Qayyum as saying. These proposed amendments will give the President several new powers. One amendment will give the President the power to send a judge on leave with the concurrence of the Supreme Judicial Council while another will allow the Presidential election to be held before the end of his term. After doffing his uniform and taking oath for a second Presidential term as a civilian on November 29, Musharraf had announced that he would end the Emergency in December. Opposition parties like former premier Nawaz Sharif`s PML-N have been demanding that Musharraf should also reinstate judges of the superior judiciary who were sacked for not taking oath under the PCO.
ISLAMABAD: The Constitution is expected to be amended before the emergency is lifted on December 15 to give more powers to President Pervez Musharraf to act against judges of the superior judiciary, Attorney General Malik Qayyum said.The order for withdrawing the emergency will be finalised till Thursday (Today) and is likely to be issued on Saturday, Qayyum said after a meeting with Musharraf to discuss modalities for ending the emergency rule. The order will also revoke the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) that Musharraf had issued after imposing Emergency on November 3. The PCO had suspended the Constitution and key fundamental rights, including the freedom of the press, and resulted in the dismissal of judges who did not endorse the Emergency. Qayyum said "hectic discussions" were underway to finalise the order to revoke the PCO. Musharraf and his legal advisors are also discussing several amendments to the Constitution that will be made before ending the emergency, Dawn News channel quoted Qayyum as saying. These proposed amendments will give the President several new powers. One amendment will give the President the power to send a judge on leave with the concurrence of the Supreme Judicial Council while another will allow the Presidential election to be held before the end of his term. After doffing his uniform and taking oath for a second Presidential term as a civilian on November 29, Musharraf had announced that he would end the Emergency in December. Opposition parties like former premier Nawaz Sharif`s PML-N have been demanding that Musharraf should also reinstate judges of the superior judiciary who were sacked for not taking oath under the PCO.
