Musharraf can retain power only through a Constitutional amendment: Sethi

Only a Constitutional amendment can prevent the Supreme Court from posing a threat to President Pervez Musharraf staying in power, said Najam Sethi, the Editor of the Daily Times.

Lahore, Aug 30 : Only a Constitutional amendment can prevent the Supreme Court from posing a threat to President Pervez Musharraf staying in power, said Najam Sethi, the Editor of the Daily Times.

Musharraf requires a two-third majority in the National Assembly, which would be impossible without the support of either the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) or the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), Sethi told a television channel.

Commenting on a possible deal between Benazir Bhutto and Musharraf, Sethi said Bhutto had urged the government to settle all contentious issues as soon as possible because she wanted to announce the deal at her party's Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting in London.

"I think a last meeting between Bhutto and the Musharraf regime would take place in the next one or two days," he said.

Sethi said it was still unknown whether Saudi rulers would pressure Nawaz Sharif to stay in exile for three more years according to the agreement that he had signed.

He said he did not see Bhutto or Sharifs returning to Pakistan before September 15.

He opined that both leaders were currently observing the country's situation to decide the timing of their return.

The Sharifs should have returned the day following the Supreme Court ruling if they were so desperate to return, he added.

Replying to a question on how he had once called the MMA a 'Mullah-Military Alliance' but had not penned a name for Bhutto's efforts for a deal with the military dictator, Sethi said he still believed that the MMA was a 'Mullah-Military Alliance'.

He said the military's alliance with extremist parties had always proved lethal for the country. He said if no deal occurred, it was possible that Musharraf would be forced to take extra-constitutional measures.

ANI