WASHINGTON, July 12 (UPI) -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf outlined a package of constitutional reforms Friday including the creation of a national security council with the power to sack the prime minister.
The opposition says that the reforms are aimed at strengthening Musharraf's grip on power.
But the president himself devoted most of his hour-long address -- broadcast live on national television and radio -- to denying the opposition's claim. "I am giving power away, rather than amassing it in my hands," he said.
Analysts say such claims will do little to improve the sagging image of Musharraf -- increasingly unpopular in Pakistan since his controversial referendum last April.
Although the government claims that Musharraf received 97 percent votes in the referendum, almost all political parties, newspapers and human rights groups have rejected the results as massively rigged.
The rejection was so overwhelming that in one of his speeches after the referendum Musharraf apologized to the nation "for any irregularities some people might have committed in their enthusiasm."
But the criticism increased as he unveiled his first set of constitutional changes last month, giving himself sweeping powers. Last week, he issued a decree barring former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif from a third term.
"Today Musharraf has few supporters in Pakistan," says Masood Haider, a political correspondent for the country's prestigious Dawn newspaper. "He is criticized in the media, despised by militant groups and condemned by political parties."
Even his former allies are now leaving the general who first came to power in October 1999, toppling Sharif. One of them is Maleeha Lodhi, his ambassador in Washington, who is now returning home at her own request. Political observers say that Lodhi and other politically savvy people are trying to distance themselves from Musharraf because of his unpopularity.
Bhutto rejected his reforms as "undemocratic" and urged her party members to join other political parties "in a united campaign for the restoration of democracy."
To silence his critics Musharraf plans to hold general elections, the first since the military takeover, on Oct. 10, as required by a Supreme Court order. The court had endorsed the military government in 1999 on the condition that it held elections within three years.
As Musharraf announced certain constitutional changes last month to keep his two main rivals -- Bhutto and Sharif -- out of politics, more than a dozen parties urged him to step down before October saying that they no longer believe he can hold fair and free elections.
Defending his reforms, Musharraf said although he would head the proposed national security council, it will include the prime minister, an opposition leader, the four provincial chief ministers, three armed forces chiefs and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.
"Is this amassing authority and power or distributing them," he asked.
His critics point out that the civilians will have little say in a council that is headed by a military president and includes four generals. "Even if the elections are fair and free, they will not lead to a democratic set up," says Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for Bhutto's People's Party.
"The proposed council will have the authority to unilaterally sack the prime minister, his entire cabinet, and the parliament, where is room for democracy in this?" he asked.
Musharraf defended his reforms by saying that they will prevent future military takeovers. According to him, in the past the army toppled civilian governments because "there was no mechanism for getting rid of corrupt and unpopular rulers." But the council, he said, can remove the prime minister without having to wrap up the entire system.
The reforms that Musharraf outlined in his speech authorize the president to ask the council to sack the prime minister but the prime minister could not ask the council or the military to remove the president.
But Musharraf said that "all these amendments are debatable. Give your views with patience and balance and we will respect your views."
However, few in Pakistan expect him to put these reforms to the parliament -- to be elected in October -- for approval. Instead, they say, the general will turn them into law through presidential decrees.
The opposition also has rejected another reform, which makes it compulsory to have a bachelor's degree for holding an elected office. "This disqualifies more than 98 percent people," said a spokesman for the opposition Muslim League party.
Yet the country's Supreme Court endorsed this reform on Wednesday saying that it would improve political debate and legislation in Pakistan.
Political parties are refusing to accept any of these reforms and have pledged to launch a countrywide campaign to force Musharraf to step down.
Despite this strong opposition, political pundits in Islamabad say that political parties may fail to bring the people out in the streets as "people have shown little inclination or desire to participate in agitations," says Hussain Huqqani, a former Information Secretary of Pakistan.
But he says that despite this the proposed reforms will make Musharraf even more unpopular and will lead to power-struggle between him and the government that is elected after the October elections. "And this clash will weaken both."
