Islamabad, Jan 02: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf today indicated he would not use his constitutional power to dissolve the legislature and sack the Prime Minister and vowed to sustain democracy and economic reforms. "Despite the Article 58-2(B) of the constitution, the present parliament would become first in the history of the country to complete its full five-year term," Musharraf said in a televised new year address to the nation.
"It would be my responsibility to ensure the continuation of sustained democracy," he said.
Musharraf's remarks came close on the heels of the amendment to Pakistan's 1973 constitution to give the general extraordinary powers, including the right to dissolve parliament and sack the Prime Minister by decree.
They assumed significance in the backdrop of Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali's expressing the hope that the military strongman would not use his powers to sack him and dissolve the National Assembly.
Bureau Report