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waqarabro	May 3 2008, 11:45 PM
Swash-buckling Posts: 337 Group: Members Member #553 Joined: October 21, 2007	Nawaz agrees to retain PCO judges: May 12 new deadline for judiciary’s restoration By Amjad Mahmood LAHORE, May 2: Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif has announced that the pre-emergency judiciary will be restored on May 12 in accordance with the Murree Declaration. However, his party had to make some compromises, particularly agreeing to retain the PCO judges, in return for Pakistan People’s Party’s cooperation. “The National Assembly will pass a resolution seeking reinstatement of the unconstitutionally and illegally deposed judges to their offices, to be followed by a notification by the government the same day,” Mr Sharif said at a press conference after a PML-N leadership meeting here on Friday. He said a committee of legal experts would take care of the details. Law Minister Farooq H. Naek will head the committee comprising Supreme Court Bar Association president Aitzaz Ahsan, former law minister Abdul Hafeez Peerzada, Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, Senator Raza Rabbani and Khwaja Haris, a Lahore-based lawyer who has represented the Sharif brothers in some cases. All members of the committee, with the exception of Mr Peerzada, are outspoken advocates of reinstatement of the judges. Mr Sharif said the committee would refer the matter to the top leadership of both the coalition partners in case of a deadlock. He said he saw no harm in accepting some of PPP’s demands over the issue, even if it amounted to the PML-N having to make some compromises. “We expressed concern at the PCO judges but they insisted that they should be retained. We had to sacrifice (our stance) on some of the issues for a greater cause.” He said a constitutional package for ‘judicial reforms’ would also be introduced but it would not be linked with the resolution. Various teams would work on points proposed to be included in the package and a solution acceptable to all the stakeholders would be found through consultations, he said. When asked if the package would review the tenure of the chief justice and curtail his powers to take suo motu action, Mr Sharif said consultations would be held in the light of the Charter of Democracy and agreed points would be incorporated. He rejected a perception that the PPP was reluctant to cooperate on the reinstatement plan and that its co-chairman Asif Zardari had avoided holding a joint press conference with him on the issue. The PML-N chief said that the two parties had decided during the Dubai talks that he would address a press conference to make the announcement. The former prime minister said both sides had held the talks with a realisation that keeping their alliance intact was essential for taking many other important decisions, such as implementing the Charter of Democracy. The alliance, he said, would work to repeal the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, disband the National Security Council and curb ‘authoritarian powers’ of the president. Mr Sharif denied that his meeting with US Ambassador Anne W. Patterson here on Friday had anything to do with the judges’ issue. Musharraf ready to ‘live without 58(2)b’ By Ahmed Hassan ISLAMABAD, May 2: President Pervez Musharraf has conveyed to PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, through a messenger, his ascent, in principle, to the removal of president’s powers under Article 58(2)b of the Constitution, DawnNews television channel reported on Friday. However, the president’s reported readiness to agree to the repeal of the controversial article is said to be conditional because he seeks, in return, a legal cover for all actions he took as army chief after imposing the state of emergency on Nov 3 last year. The president’s camp sprang into action after Mr Zardari and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif agreed in Dubai to reinstate the judges sacked by President Musharraf. Most of the reports about President Musharraf’s reported message to Mr Zardari cited people in the presidency as the source. However, inexplicably, the sources insisted on remaining anonymous. The president’s change of heart is believed to be a result of intense consultations that he had been holding with his legal aides over the past two months on the issue of judges’ reinstatement, his own status as president and the fallout of the Nov 3 emergency. The president also held meetings with his political aides. He met PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, former president Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari, former prime minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Faisal Saleh Hayat and Raza Hayat Hirraj. Sources said that president’s meeting with three former PPP men was significant and gave credence to reports that the presidential camp had a channel for negotiations with the PPP. During the meetings, the president summed up his strategy after explaining his position and sought suggestions on how to handle the issue of reinstatement of the judges without disturbing his own position. Informed sources said that the president’s camp was upbeat about a power-sharing agreement between the PPP and MQM as a result of which the ruling coalition would have an additional support of 29 legislators at the centre. The president’s aides, the sources said, were convinced that Dubai talks had failed to resolve some contentious issues between the PPP and PML-N. They were also convinced that the judges could not be reinstated through a resolution and that a constitutional amendment would be required and that would need a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament. According to the sources, the presidential camp was ready to challenge the judges’ reinstatement through a resolution in court.Senior PML-Q leader Tariq Azim confirmed to Dawn that efforts for a quid pro quo were going on and the presidents’ camp was involved in talks with the PPP in order to avoid a clash with the new government. In return, the sources said, the president wanted the PPP leader to give indemnity through legislation to all his actions taken after Nov 3, except for judges’ reinstatement, and he should be allowed to serve as constitutional head of the state for his full tenure. President’s legal aides, including Sharifuddin Pirzada and Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum, are reported to have told the president that since the Article 58(2)b was a big threat to the new government it would be fair to make the offer to the ruling coalition to end a political impasse. Sources at the presidency confirmed that the ANP and JUI-F were on board in the quid pro quo strategy and they would continue to support the PPP. President’s legal advisers are reported to have prepared a bill to give indemnity to the Nov 3 actions by taking all players in parliament on board.
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