Zardari says 17th Amendment will be repealed

Lahore, Mar. 31 (ANI): Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has reiterated that he is committed to abolish the 17th Amendment, which gave the head of government powers to the president.

The Daily times quoted Zardari as telling senior journalists at the Presidency that he was also ready to surrender the power of Article 58 (2b).

On the restoration of judiciary, he claimed that the army did not play any role in the reinstatement of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

"It was a decision taken by me and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. The Pakistan People's Party was waiting for the retirement of Justice (r) Hameed Dogar," he said.

Meanwhile, Zardari expressed satisfaction over the performance of the armed forces in the Swat operation.

He said he had asked the US to inform Pakistan of any terrorists on its soil so security forces could conduct their own operations.

Zardari admitted that some political decisions had affected his party's standing, but assured that the future actions would reverse this. (ANI)