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Islamabad: Presidential contender and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari is considering the abolition of controversial Article 58-(2b) of the constitution, which gives a president absolute powers to dissolve the National Assembly, Gulf News has learnt.
"Zardari has already started discussions on the issue of curtailing president's powers to dissolve assemblies and appoint governors in the provinces in a bid to reclaim support from his breakaway coalition partner Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N)," sources in the PPP and allied parties told Gulf News.
"It will help Zardari regain the confidence of his coalition allies and claim some 'lost honour' following allegations of breaking promises," said a senior lawmaker.
The move came as a senior PML-N leader told Gulf News that their party chief Nawaz Sharif had offered to withdraw the party's presidential nominee Justice (Retd) Saeeduzzaman Siddique provided Zardari abolishes the 17th amendment comprising Article 58-2(b) and reinstates all sacked judges, including Chief Justice Iftkhar Ahmad Chaudhry. The negotiations are still on and the next 48 hours are crucial for a major political breakthrough, sources said.
The news came as the campaign for the presidential election gained momentum in Islamabad, where all main politicians have camped and are engaged in gathering support for their candidates.
Nominations filed
The campaigning hit fever-pitch yesterday following acceptance of the nomination papers from the three main candidates - Asif Ali Zardari from the PPP; Justice Seddiqi from PML-N and Mushahid Hussain from Shujjat Hussain's Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q). The nomination papers of Zardari's covering candidate and his sister Faryal Talpur and the PML-N's covering candidate Ro-eedad Khan were also accepted. Surprisingly, no objection was raised by any party against the rival candidates.
The Chief Election Commissioner rejected the nomination papers of 27 independent candidates for various reasons. The contestants have been given time to withdraw from the elections until August 30 before the issuance of final list. The presidential poll will be held on September 6.
What is article 58-2(b)
- Article 58-2(b) of the Pakistani constitution states:
Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (2) of Article 48, the President may also dissolve the National Assembly in his discretion where, in his opinion, a situation has arisen in which the Government of the Federation cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and an appeal to the electorate is necessary.
-The article was invoked three times in the 1990s - by President Gulam Ishaq Khan against Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on August 6, 1990; also by Khan against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1993 and by President Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari against Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in November 1996.
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