ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has made it clear that it would return to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani only after the reinstatement of the Supreme Court judges who had been sacked after an emergency was imposed last November.
PML-N chief and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made his party’s position clear when Gilani telephoned him Sunday to take him into confidence over a proposed cabinet expansion.
“He turned down an invitation of the prime minister to rejoin the federal Cabinet and made it clear that the PML-N would not become a part of the federal cabinet till the restoration of the deposed judges,” The News reported yesterday. There could be “no compromise” on this issue, the newspaper quoted Sharif as saying.
At the same time, Sharif “assured the prime minister that his party would resolve all issues through consultation with the PPP and would remain a part of the coalition government,” The News said. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leads the ruling coalition. Sharif also named PML-N leader Nisar Ali for conducting negotiations with the PPP on appointing heads of standing committees and parliamentary secretaries and on expansion of the federal Cabinet. The PPP and the PML-N had emerged as the two largest parties after the February general elections.
PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari had initially agreed to Sharif’s demand that the Supreme Court judges President Pervez Musharraf had sacked after imposing an emergency be reinstated.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court yesterday adjourned till Aug. 11 hearing of Sharif’s appeal against his disqualification to stand in election.
This is the second adjournment of the hearing of his appeal against a ruling that barred Sharif from contesting a parliamentary by-election. The hearing was originally scheduled two weeks ago.
