Zardari did not want to repeal 17th Amendment: WikiLeaks

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


KARACHI: WikiLeaks has recently revealed that President Asif Ali Zardari in a meeting with US Ambassador Anne Patterson said he was not interested in abolishing the 17th Amendment according to which the president’s power would have been transferred to the prime minister, Geo News reported.

In a secret cable from March 21, 2009, the US Ambassador wrote to Washington about the details of the meeting with President Zardari held on March 18.

Patterson told Washington that President Zardari was not interested in repealing the 17th Amendment despite pressure from PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s announcement of nullifying the amendment on public demand.

The cable also revealed that the President signaled that he would try to limit the powers of Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry.

President Zardari complained to the US Ambassador that the US and UK governments did not support him properly in the times of crisis.

Anne Patterson further wrote that she was not hopeful that President Zardari would implement the announcements made by Prime Minister Gilani on public demand.