Washington, Nov 16: Former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif have deplored the announcement that only President will have the power to lift the emergency.

"It is sad. See what they have done to the country! Who is the Army Chief to delegate powers to the President? Very sad, " said Sharif.

Bhutto said the move needed to be studied carefully.

"It could mean that Musharraf has decided to quit the army, and that’s why he has given new powers to the President, " she said.

Bhutto observed that under the Constitution, the President could declare a state of emergency, but he had no power to suspend the Constitution.

Sharif did not get into the legalities of the move, and instead focussed on condemning the act. "How tragic, " he said.

"The Chief of Army Staff is delegating powers to the President as an act of kindness, as a favour. It hurts to see what they have done to Pakistan. "

The two leaders expressed their views in separate interviews to VOA.

Sharif claimed that Musharraf had trapped himself in a black hole and the more he tried to get out, the deeper he would sink.

"Will it not be better for everyone, if the army quits politics and returns to barracks? " he asked.

Sharif rejected the suggestion that the army seemed to have curbed the popular backlash against the emergency.

"No, they have not. The resistance is increasing and it will get worse every day. I do not see how Musharraf is going to survive, " he said.

Bhutto rejected the government’s claim that the current assembly was the first in Pakistan’s history to complete a five-year term.

"It is not true. The first assembly to do so was that of Zuilfikar Ali Bhutto, " the Dawn quoted Bhutto, as saying.

"This assembly was not people’s assembly. It was the Army Chief’s assembly and worked under his wings, " she added. (ANI)