The removal of this power from the Constitution was one of the demands Benazir Bhutto made for a power-sharing arrangement with Musharraf. It will become clear in the next few days if President Musharraf will agree to this amendment along with doffing his uniform or not.

The other powers which rest with the president, says Malik, are that he/she can grant pardon and suspend or commute any sentence passed by any court, tribunal or other authority. He/she also has the power to appoint the chief justice of Pakistan under Article 177 of the Constitution. Also, the president can promulgate ordinances under Article 89 of the Constitution. This essentially means that he/she can perform a lawmaking rule instead of the Parliament. This power has been extensively used and probably more ordinances have been passed during Musharraf’s tenure than Acts of Parliament.

• The president is the chairman of the National Security Council (NSC). What does this mean?

According to Masood, the role of the chairman of NSC is to perpetuate the hold of the military in Pakistan: “The chairman of NSC aims to have a body which oversees Parliament, sort of a supra-Constitutional body which has overriding influence over decisions of Parliament and the government. He/she doesn’t have such legal powers, but an aura arising out of the way the NSC is constituted. NSC chairperson aims at having the armed forces involved in Pakistan’s power structure in such a way that they can exercise their power and influence continuously.”