Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said control of the National Command Authority, which is responsible for nuclear weapons, had shifted from the presidency to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

"After the amendment in National Command Authority Ordinance, all powers and functions shall rest with the National Command Authority, on whose behalf the prime minister will exercise these powers and functions," Babar said.

The statement did not explicitly mention the country's nuclear weapons, but lawyers and analysts confirmed that the National Command Authority related to Pakistan's atomic arsenal.

"This ordinance is about the nuclear weapons and strategic assets," senior lawyer Akram Sheikh told AFP.

The switch was part of 28 ordinances which Zardari re-issued, with some amendments. The ordinances would otherwise have lapsed following a Supreme Court ruling that decisions related to former ruler Pervez Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency were unconstitutional.

The president did not re-issue a deeply controversial amnesty on corruption cases, which had helped to protect Zardari and key allies.

The president's approval ratings are at rock bottom and analysts believe he can only survive mounting political pressures, worsened by a Taliban insurgency in the northwest, by investing greater powers in parliament and the premier.

"Transferring the chairmanship of National Command Authority to the prime minister is a giant leap forward to empower the elected parliament and the prime minister," Babar said in the statement.

Sheikh, the lawyer, said: "The president wants to give the impression that he is empowering his prime minister. This transfer is basically cosmetic."

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