Sharif defers deadline on judges

Islamabad, August 22: The crisis surrounding the coalition Government in Pakistan eased a bit on Friday with former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif deferring the deadline on the reinstatement judges sacked by former President Pervez Musharraf till Wednesday.

The ruling coalition leaders on Friday held hectic consultations to resolve differences over the restoration of deposed judges that were threatening to split up the alliance.

Former premier Nawaz Sharif, whose PML(N) is the second largest party in the ruling coalition, had threatened to pull out of the alliance if Pakistan People’s Party-led Government did not act by Friday to reinstate the judges sacked by former president Pervez Musharraf during last year’s Emergency.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Awami National Party president Asfandyar Wali Khan held talks with Sharif on Friday afternoon to find ways to address the PML(N)’s differences with PPP on modalities for reinstating the judges.

Sharif’s decision to yield on his threat to pull out of the ruling coalition if the judges were not reinstated by Friday came after some mediation by the coalition partners.

“The judges should have been restored within 24 hours of Musharraf’s ouster through a (parliamentary) resolution. Musharraf resigned on August 18 and the judges should technically have been reinstated on August 19. But this did not happen,” he said after discussions with the two leaders this afternoon.

The PML(N) and PPP had agreed on August 7 that the deposed judges would be reinstated immediately after the ouster of Musharraf from office. After Musharraf resigned on Monday to avoid impeachment by the ruling coalition, the PML(N) asked the PPP to deliver on this commitment by August 22.

“We have now said that since the next two days are holidays, the resolution (for reinstating the deposed judges) should be tabled in the National Assembly on Monday... After that, there should be a debate on the resolution on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, the resolution should be passed and the judges restored,” said Sharif after discussions with the two coalition partners.

Referring to his agreement on the issue with PPP chief Asif Ali Zardari, Sharif said that his party had agreed to wait till Friday as a committee comprising Rehman and Khan was formed to address the issue of the deposed judges.

The PPP and PML(N) are also divided on the issue of providing indemnity to Musharraf. However, Sharif has said he was not against Musharraf leaving Pakistan though some of his supporters wanted to see the former President in jail.

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