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Repeal 17th Amend by March, Zardari tells government

* President directs govt to repeal controversial clauses in constitution
* Says he won’t address parliament unless clauses repealed

By Zulfiqar Ghuman

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari said on Friday that he has directed the government to repeal all controversial clauses in the constitution before his address to a joint sitting of the parliament in March next year.

“I will not address the joint sitting of parliament unless controversial clauses in the constitution – such as the 17th Amendment and Article 58(2b) are repealed,” Zardari was quoted as saying at a meeting with a delegation of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ).

The parliamentary year in Pakistan begins on March 17 every year, and the president addresses a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate at the beginning of the year as a constitutional requirement. The eight-member delegation – led by PFUJ President Pervaiz Shaukat – called on Zardari at the Presidency, and brought up the implementation of the Wage Board Award and other problems related to the day-to-day functioning of the PFUJ.

A participant of the meeting said the president made the remarks on controversial clauses while responding to journalists’ questions about the restoration of powers of parliament transferred to the presidency under the 17th Amendment and Article 58(2b). Zardari, also the co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), also reiterated his party’s commitment to democracy and supremacy of parliament.

“We have a commitment for the restoration of true democracy in the country... the objective cannot be achieved without repealing amendments introduced by a dictator,” Zardari was quoted as saying.

The president said the PPP had made countless sacrifices for the sake of democracy. “We will continue to follow that path despite all the challenges confronting the democratic process in Pakistan,” he said.

The president asked Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira to look into issues raised by the PFUJ delegation and redress the problems. The delegation included Shamsul Islam, Sheyaryar Khan, Bilal Thaim, Waqar Satti, Malik Maqbool, Najmus Saqib and Mushtaq Minhas. Later, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar and Kaira told a private TV channel that the president had not given the government a deadline to repeal controversial clauses.

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