Opposition slams Musharraf changes

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has a strong support base in Pakistan, but Musharraf's latest decree bars her from standing in October's elections

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan's main opposition party has accused President Pervez Musharraf of strengthening his dictatorial rule by pushing through a series of constitutional changes which give him sweeping powers.

Leaders of the Pakistan People's Party said Sunday that Musharraf had no right to push through the changes, which include giving him the power to fire the cabinet and imposing term limits on prime ministerial candidates.

"This is a crude attempt to subvert the will of the people and these changes are designed to strengthen dictatorial rule in the country," The Associated Press reports Raza Rabbani, the party's general secretary, as telling reporters.

The constitutional changes, which also require political candidates to hold a university degree, give Musharraf the power to fire the cabinet and dismiss parliament. He would then be allowed to name successors to anyone he fires.

MORE STORIES • Musharraf bars predecessors from PM role  • Musharraf plan to bolster his power    PROFILE General Pervez Musharraf

In the latest decree, issued Saturday, anyone who has been prime minister or chief minister of a province for two terms is banned from running again.

This effectively bars Musharraf's two predecessors -- Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, both of whom still command significant power bases in the country, from running in October's elections.

Both are in exile but have vowed to return to Pakistan for the elections. Analysts say the army fears the power of the popular support Bhutto could command in the elections.

The two former leaders, who between them held the premiership twice each between 1998 and 1999, face arrest if they return to Pakistan.

Bhutto went into self-imposed exile in early 1999 for fear of being arrested on charges of corruption.

Musharraf, the army chief of staff, sent Sharif into 10 years exile in Saudi Arabia in December 2000, after ousting him as president in a bloodless military coup in 1999.

Law Minister Khalid Ranjha defended the constitutional changes, telling The Associated Press that the ban on former prime ministers would ensure new blood was injected into Pakistan's political leadership.