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Dubai: Chief of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Nawaz Sharif reached Dubai on Tuesday evening to meet his coalition partner Asif Ali Zardari in the hope of concluding talks on reinstating the deposed judges and future of the Pakistan president.
Sharif decided to rush to Dubai to salvage the talks, which failed on Monday to resolve the differences and threatening a split with the coalition partner Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
Sharif on Sunday sent Shahbaz Sharif, president of the PML-N, and two other senior leaders - Chaudhry Nisar Ali, senior minister, and Khawja Asif, petroleum minister - to push Zardari into agreeing to reinstate the judges by April 30, the agreed deadline between the allies.
The PML-N and the PPP had agreed to the deadline in the Murree Declaration - an agreement signed by them before entering into the coalition government.
The talk failed as Zardari did not want to bow to pressure on the deadline. Zardari said the reinstatement of the judges would be done through a constitutional package and not by following any deadline. He told a private television channel that it may take two weeks or even more.
Reconciliation
Zardari was of the view that the nation needed reconciliation as it was facing other big problems (besides the judiciary issue) like electricity and water shortage, food crisis and law and order. "We are reconciling with all political forces." He said that he did not believe in the 30-day countdown for the sacked judges.
Zardari accused some of the agitating lawyers of influencing politicians to boycott the general election to "further the agenda of certain political forces".
Meanwhile, a senior official from Sharif's party repeated the threat that the party would pull its ministers from the Cabinet if the judges were not reinstated in time, but insisted the party would remain in the coalition. Sadiqul Farooq said while the deadline looked difficult to meet, there was "still hope" for an agreement.
Information Ministry Sherry Rehman, a party colleague of Zardari, said yesterday that reinstating the judges required legislation that "needs some time" to be moved in Parliament. "I don't think in this situation the coalition is threatened," she said.
Mian Sattar, a senior lawmaker for the PPP, said the party was committed to an independent judiciary but was worried about "judicial adventurism". "We also want to change the system."
Amnesty deal
Musharraf took the unprecedented decision to depose the judges ahead of a decision by the Supreme Court on whether to overturn his re-election as president.
He has always opposed restoration of judges, particularly ex-chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and has accused the latter of working to oust him.
Some PPP insiders say Zardari's fear is that if restored, Chaudhry could undo an amnesty deal Musharraf made late last year that cleared him of graft charges. The deal allowed Bhutto and Zardari to return home from exile last year.
- With inputs from agencies
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