ISLAMABAD, 14 March 2008 — President Pervez Musharraf has agreed to reinstate some of the deposed judges, government sources said late yesterday.
Earlier, Pakistan Bar Association President Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan said while talking to reporters that some of the deposed judges would be reinstated “but we demand all judges be restored.”
The president’s move came after the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of Asif Ali Zardari and the Pakistan Muslim League of Nawaz Sharif signed a joint declaration on Sunday to move a resolution in Parliament to reinstate all dismissed judges.
Some PPP leaders, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the president made it known to the two parties yesterday that he was willing to reinstate most of the judges, but not former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
The PPP and the PML (N) yesterday concluded their consultations on the formation of a PPP-led coalition government. The parties agreed to name of the next prime minister on March 16, a day before the new National Assembly meets.
Fahmida Mirza, a PPP lawmaker, told Arab News that at yesterday’s meeting the two parties decided that the new government would focus on combating terrorism, improving security and ways to put the economy back on track.
She said the government will obviously be headed by a PPP prime minister and “our party’s choice for the post is totally supported by PML (N) and the other coalition partner, Awami National Party.”
Fahmida confirmed media reports that both Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari have plans to visit Saudi Arabia and hold meeting with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and seek his help in reviving Pakistan’s economy. In this connection both leaders have held separate meetings with Ambassador Ali Awadh Asiri in Islamabad.
