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Pakistan President Signs Amendment Curbing Powers

   VOA News 19 April 2010

   Pakistani  President  Asif  Ali  Zardari  has  signed a constitutional
   amendment that strips him of sweeping powers.
   Mr. Zardari signed the 18th Amendment into law Monday in a ceremony at
   his presidential office in Islamabad.
   Both  the  lower  and upper houses of parliament approved the package,
   which makes Mr. Zardari a ceremonial head of state by transferring key
   powers  to the office of the prime minister and the parliament.  They
   include  the  ability  to  dismiss an elected government, dissolve the
   parliament and appoint military chiefs.
   The   additional  presidential  powers  were  introduced  by  military
   dictator Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980s.
   The  amendment also renames Pakistan's North West Frontier Province as
   "Khyber   Pakhtunkhwa"  to  reflect  the  ethnic  Pashtun  group  that
   dominates the region.
   The  move  has  sparked  protests by Urdu speakers who oppose the name
   change.

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   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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