Row over constitutional reforms package in Pak

The ruling Pakistan People's Party's efforts to finalise a constitutional reforms package suffered a major setback after it failed to achieve consensus with the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on the procedure for appointing judges and on renaming the North West Frontier Province.

The failure to finalise the package will be a major embarrassment for the PPP as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Babar Awan, a close aide of President Asif Ali Zardari, had announced on Wednesday that the package would be tabled in both houses of parliament on Friday. Awan had also said the president would address a joint sitting of the Senate and National Assembly on Friday but sources said this session was unlikely to be held as the reforms package had not been approved.

A parliamentary committee comprising members of all major political parties was expected to finalise and sign a report with its recommendations for constitutional amendments on Thursday but was unable to do so after the panel failed to achieve consensus on key issues, sources said.

The PML-N and the Awami National Party, which rules the North West Frontier Province, were unable to reconcile their differences on renaming the province. PML-N chief and former premier Nawaz Sharif told a news conference on Thursday evening that his party had reservations on the procedure recommended by the parliamentary committee for appointing members of the superior judiciary.

Sharif demanded that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani should hold consultations with the chief justice, the superior judiciary and the opposition to achieve consensus on the procedure for appointing judges. "No individual, including the president and the chief justice, should have the power to appoint judges," he said.

The PML-N chief said the prime minister had told him that the government wanted to table the constitutional reforms package in parliament tomorrow, but he warned that the PPP-led coalition would face "problems" in getting the amendments approved by lawmakers if there was no consensus on the package.

"We told him (Gilani) there will be problems if the package is tabled without consensus," he said. Sharif added that the PML-N wanted differences on the package, including the proposal to rename the NWFP, to be resolved amicably. The committee that had framed the constitutional reforms package should continue working till there is consensus, Sharif said.

This was a clear indication that he was not endorsing claims by senior ministers, including Parliamentary Affairs Minister Awan, that the panel had completed its work. Sharif criticised the PPP-led government for failing to tackle rising rises, growing unemployment and crippling power shortages. He also slammed the government for keeping parliament in the dark about the ongoing strategic dialogue with the US.

Meanwhile, sources said the parliamentary panel working on the constitutional reforms had decided to meet again after Friday prayers to try and resolve differences on the reforms package. The draft reforms package contains wide-ranging amendments aimed at stripping the president of sweeping powers, including the powers to appoint the three service chiefs and dissolve the parliament. One-fourth of the constitution's articles are likely to be amended by the package.

The parliamentary committee that framed the package has suggested over 100 amendments to 70 articles of the constitution, the Dawn newspaper quoted its sources as saying. The package is mainly aimed at removing changes made to the constitution by two former military rulers, Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf. The parliamentary committee has also suggested major changes in the constitution to give Pakistan's four provinces more administrative, financial and political autonomy.