Zardari on cusp of losing major powers

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari was Friday on the threshold of losing much of his power as constitutional reforms move through parliament.

In a unanimous vote of lawmakers present, the lower house of parliament late Thursday approved a 102-clause bill that reverses moves by successive military rulers to weaken Pakistan's 1973 parliamentary constitution.

The bill will move Monday to the upper house of parliament, or Senate, where it is easily expected to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority, then pass to Zardari to sign and pass into law.

The amendments will effectively make Zardari a titular head of state who can only formally appoint heads of the armed forces, dissolve the national assembly and appoint provincial governors on the advice of the prime minister.

The bill's formulation and passage has been hailed as a rare feat of cross-party consensus in the fractious and bitter world of Pakistani politics, but analysts warn that it has little practical benefit in a country crippled by problems.