Source: Boston.com (Associated Press)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Pervez Musharraf made last-minute changes to Pakistan’s constitution yesterday, shoring up his legal defenses a day before lifting a six-week-old state of emergency, a senior official said.

Musharraf lifted the emergency and restored the constitution today, but he still faces a barrage of skepticism at home and abroad that the Jan. 8 parliamentary election will be flawed.
Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum said Musharraf issued constitutional amendments that exempt him from getting parliamentary approval for the emergency order he imposed.

Musharraf also removed a condition from the charter stating that civil servants had to wait two years after their retirement before running for elected office, Qayyum said. Musharraf stepped down from his powerful post of army chief last month.

Other changes sealed the retirement of purged Supreme Court judges, including former Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, who either refused or were not invited to sign a fresh oath in the wake of the emergency. Their replacements swiftly approved Musharraf’s reelection.

The US-backed leader cast Pakistan into turmoil and raised serious doubts over the credibility of next month’s parliamentary elections by imposing a state of emergency Nov. 3.

Musharraf has said he established emergency rule to halt a conspiracy by top judges to end his eight-year rule and ward off political chaos that would hobble efforts against extremism.

He has also maintained that the Supreme Court, which had been poised to rule on the legality of his October reelection, was acting beyond the constitution.

But yesterday’s move appeared to confirm the opinion of many legal specialists that the president’s case had been weak.

If Musharraf’s party loses control of parliament, opposition lawmakers could move to prosecute or impeach him for allegedly using unconstitutional means to secure a new term as president.

In a separate effort to restore the legitimacy of the elections, Musharraf is considering suspending local mayors and scrapping a term limit for prime ministers.

Some opposition leaders have demanded that the mayors be suspended to prevent them from influencing the elections.

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Tags: amendments, constutution, Elections, Musharraf