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Parliament passes law to clip Zardari’s powers
Pakistan’s Lower House of the Parliament on Thursday passed the historic constitution (18th amendment) bill, 2010, aimed at restoring the 1973 constitution in its original form, with a two third majority.
Pakistan’s Lower House of the Parliament on Thursday passed the historic constitution (18th amendment) bill, 2010, aimed at restoring the 1973 constitution in its original form, with a two third majority.
The unanimously approved reform bill strips President Asif Ali Zardari of key powers in a move to bolster parliamentary democracy weakened by military rule.
A jubilant Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani declared that parliamentary democracy was now being fully restored as MPs
slammed fists on desks in celebration after shouting “hang Musharraf, hang.”
“The impossible has been made possible by the house today,” Gilani told the parliament in a speech.
The House passed the bill containing 102 clauses, rejecting a few amendments moved by members regarding concurrent list, renaming the NWFP, intra-party elections and women seats in the House and within parties, proposed by a few members of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q).
The historic amendment rolls back four decades of infringements by military rulers on Pakistan's 1973 constitution, say members. It is expected to sail through the upper house of parliament as early as next week and then pass into law.
