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Islamabad: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has stepped up the pressure for the restoration of Pakistani judges ousted by President Pervez Musharraf.
Sharif yesterday met in London with fellow ruling coalition leader Asif Ali Zardari to discuss the issue, which threatens their five-week-old coalition government.
Musharraf, a stalwart US ally, removed 60 senior judges in November to halt legal challenges to his re-election efforts.
Restoration promise
The new civilian government has promised to restore them - a move that could humiliate the former army strongman and propel him toward the political exit.
But its leaders remain split despite weeks of wrangling over how to do it. They already have missed an April 30 deadline.
The party of Zardari, the widower of assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto, argues that legislation or a constitutional amendment is needed. His party leads the government.
"Everything has to be in line with the law and constitution," said Law Minister Farooq Naek, a Zardari party colleague.
But Sharif, his main coalition partner, said that the government can issue a simple order to bring back the judges after the passage of a parliamentary resolution slated for May 12.
"We need political will," Sharif said. "There is no need to seek any help from the law and constitution for it."
Musharraf imposed a state of emergency in November and purged the judiciary just before the Supreme Court could rule on the legality of his re-election as president the month before.
He accused then-Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry of conspiring against him and his plan to guide Pakistan back to democracy after his eight years of military rule.
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