Bhutto asks Oppn to reject amendments

FORMER PAKISTAN premier Benazir Bhutto on Thursday urged opposition groups to step up pressure on President General Pervez Musharraf by protesting amendments to the constitution that gave him sweeping powers.

FORMER PAKISTAN premier Benazir Bhutto on Thursday urged opposition groups to step up pressure on President General Pervez Musharraf by protesting amendments to the constitution that gave him sweeping powers.

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Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999, told the nation in a televised address last week that he has restored democracy and he would continue to hold the offices of president and army chief until 2007.

Musharraf held parliamentary elections in 2002 and turned the day-to-day running of the country over to the prime minister. However, he pushed through constitutional amendments that give him the power to dismiss the prime minister and Parliament. "We all should reject the amendments that have been made (to the constitution)," Bhutto told Pakistan's Geo television.

Bhutto said her Pakistan People's Party was ready to cooperate with a coalition of religious parties, called Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal, or MMA, to force Musharraf to shed his uniform. "We agree with them (MMA) on some issues, like they say that Musharraf should remove his (army) uniform," she said in the interview in Dubai.