ISLAMABAD, 16 November 2002 — Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf yesterday revived the country’s 1973 constitution, which has been in abeyance since he seized power in a bloodless 1999 coup, a government statement said. “The president and chief executive has revived the Constitution of Pakistan except a few articles pertaining to the provincial governments, the Senate of Pakistan, etc., with effect from Nov. 16, 2002, which will be restored later,” the full statement said.
The statement did not mention whether 29 amendments introduced unilaterally by Musharraf under the Legal Framework Order (LFO) were included, but the government has said the constitution would automatically incorporate the controversial amendments once it was revived.
The revival was expected prior to Parliament’s inaugural session, scheduled for 11:00 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) today. Musharraf appointed himself president in June last year and extended his tenure for five years through a referendum — which was mired in allegations of fraud and vote-rigging — in April.
The army chief has said his five-year term would begin when the new assembly was convened and the constitution revived. Before the elections, Musharraf introduced the LFO, which included several controversial amendments that have proved to be stumbling blocks for parties still negotiating to form a coalition government following the Oct. 10 polls.
Earlier yesterday, a government official told reporters Musharraf would take an oath of office to begin his new five-year term as president just 90 minutes before the 342-member National Assembly sits to hear the oaths of parliamentarians. The oath of office will be administered by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, which legitimized his rule for the past three years but asked him to hold parliamentary elections.
The future of the new assembly already appears uncertain. The pro-military Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid secured most seats — 118 — but not enough to rule alone. It has been trying to form a coalition with an alliance of six Islamic parties that fought on a strong anti-US platform.
Ten members of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s opposition party broke ranks on the eve of the inauguration of the Parliament, declaring their support for the PML-Q.
