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Pakistan's president to change constitution
Associated Press
Published December 14, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Pervez Musharraf will end emergency rule Saturday as promised, but first he will amend the constitution to protect his decisions from court review, Pakistan's attorney general said Thursday. Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum said that government legal experts were finalizing the amendments and that the changes would be announced before the state of emergency is lifted. Musharraf, who has acknowledged breaching constitutional protections, purged the judiciary, jailed thousands of opponents and silenced television news channels after he suspended the constitution and declared emergency rule Nov. 3. The U.S.-backed leader said he acted to prevent political chaos and to give authorities a freer hand against Islamic militants. Critics accuse him of making a power grab before the old Supreme Court could decide on his continued rule. A new opinion poll indicated 60 percent of Pakistanis disapprove of the job Musharraf is doing. This bodes badly for his party going into Jan. 8 elections that will decide who forms the next government.
[Last modified December 14, 2007, 01:24:05]
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