Wednesday, Dec 01, 2004
Wednesday, Dec 01, 2004 |
| International | ||||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | International
By B. Muralidhar Reddy
ISLAMABAD, NOV. 30. The Bill adopted by the Pakistani Parliament to enable the President, Pervez Musharraf, continue as Chief of Army Staff (COAS) became law today with the Acting President and Senate Chairman, Mohammedmian Soomro, appending his signature to it. Gen. Musharraf is on a tour of Latin America and would return here after December 5. It is immediately not clear why he sat on the Bill for over four weeks and under what circumstances it was sent to the Acting President. Observers feel that Gen. Musharraf has avoided signing it to avoid legal problems and to deprive the Opposition parties a debating point that he had signed a bill that benefited him. The Information and Broadcasting Minister, Shaikh Rasheed Ahmed, said the Bill was sent to the Acting President as the President must sign a bill within 30 days after approval of the National Assembly and the Senate. The Senate passed the Bill on November 1.
Bone of contention
Holding of the two offices has been a bone of contention between the Opposition and the Government since the October 2002 general election. Gen. Musharraf attained the age of superannuation in October 2001. At that time, he was holding the offices of Army Chief, Chief Executive and President. He extended his tenure as Army Chief for an indefinite period. The order coincided with the U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan. Parliament was paralysed throughout 2003 as the Opposition refused to cooperate pending resolution of the uniform issue. In December 2003, Gen. Musharraf entered into an agreement with the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) to end the stalemate. As per the pact he promised to leave the army job by December 31, 2004 and in return the alliance of religious parties endorsed several of the controversial amendments he had made to the Constitution and facilitated ratification of his election as President through referendum held in 2002. The Opposition parties have threatened to take to streets if Gen. Musharraf does not shed uniform. The MMA kicked off its campaign from Karachi on Sunday and the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), an umbrella outfit of mainstream parties, is holding its demonstration on December 7. Though both the groupings agree on the uniform issue, they have reservations on a joint agitation programme.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | Home |
Copyright © 2004, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
