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Pak opposition protests Musharraf's constitutional changes

With Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf planning to announce the second tranche of constitutional reforms, almost all major political parties have rejected the first one saying it was a step towards 'centralisation and absolute power' for him and the military, Pakistani media reports said on Wednesday.

The political parties, which have launched a series of demonstrations and protest actions all over the country, say the new law, called Political Parties Order 2002, could bar them from contesting the October election and that the proposed constitutional amendments would arm the President with draconian powers.

Pakistani daily The News said the second constitutional package, which could contain rules regarding appointments to constitutional posts, including chiefs of services and Auditor General, would be made public in the next few days.

The Frontier Post reported the political parties as saying: "The fact that the president would have the power to install an unelected prime minister was a complete farce and contradictory to the spirit of parliamentary democracy."

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