george gets a few pointers on Constitutional change from his chum Pervez

George left India where he had enjoyed conferring Non signing status of the Nuclear NOn Proliferation Treaty on his new found ally - to put them on a par with Israel.

George went on to see his old chum General Musharraf, President of the Muslim Republic of Pakistan, for a few tips. Remember how on August 21st 2002 the General (whose name Dubya had famously been ignorant of) unilaterally redrew Pakistan's Constitution all by himself. He adopted 29 amendments (Legal Framework Order, 2002 [Chief Executive's Order No. 24 of 2002]) that greatly expanded the powers he acquired when he enjoyed the fruits of a 1999 military coup and became the leader of Pakistan. (On October 12, 1999, the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was simply removed from power by the Armed Forces led by General Pervez Musharraf.)

One of those 29 amendments allowed him to make further amendments any time he wants. In addition, he gave himself the power to dissolve the elected Parliament and to appoint the country's military chiefs and Supreme Court Justices. He also allotted some seats on a newly created National Security Council to the military. He explicitly stated that the Parliament that will be elected will not have the power to repeal the constitutional amendments he adopted. Describing the changes, he said: "This is part of the Constitution. I am hereby making it part of the Constitution."

On December 31, 2003: The Seventeenth Amendment Bill incorporated these changes into the Constutution by parliamentary approval.

To be precise it reads ...

(1) The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, referred to in this Order as the Constitution, is hereby amended to the extent and in the manner specified in column (3) of the Schedule.

2) If there is any necessity for any further amendment of the Constitution or any difficulty arises in giving effect to any of the provisions of this Order, the Chief Executive may make such provisions and pass or promulgate such orders for amending the Constitution or for removing any difficulty as he may deem fit.

(3) The validity of any provision made, or orders passed, under clauses (1) and (2) shall not be called in question in any court on any ground whatsoever.

George is getting there .... not too far to go now. Sneh Sneh ... these sand niggers got a few tricks up their sleeves ... must have a word with Alberto.