Zardari urges MPs to approve landmark reforms

PAKISTAN: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday asked Parliament to approve as soon as possible a sweeping package of landmark constitutional reforms submitted for debate last week.

The so-called 18th amendment, which rolls back four decades of infringements by military rulers on Pakistan’s 1973 parliamentary constitution, will strip Zardari of key powers in a move to bolster parliamentary democracy.

“I call upon the parliament to pass the 18th constitutional amendment bill without delay,” Zardari said in only his third address to a joint session of parliament since taking office in 2008.

“The people of Pakistan are keenly watching and waiting for this crucial reforms bill to pass,” he said. “This initiative must lead to new beginnings”.

The package, which parliament is expected to adopt, could ease political instability in the US ally in the war on Al-Qaeda but could also build pressure on the government to re-open graft cases against the unpopular president.

AFP