Islamabad, May 3 (ANI): Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari has shied away from committing himself to the May 12 deadline announced by Nawaz Sharif for the restoration of the deposed judges.
Talking to a private TV channel, he said only the committee assigned to reach consensus on the issue could tell whether or not the resolution on judges' restoration could be tabled in the National Assembly by May 12.
When told that his lack of commitment to the fresh deadline indicated his insincerity, he hit back saying that this approach was a result of seeing things through rose coloured glasses.
Meanwhile, PPP Minister for Law and Justice Farooq H Naek told Geo News on Friday that efforts would be made to restore the judges by May 12. However, he said, if some problems emerged, the return of deposed judges could be delayed further.
He reiterated that the reinstatement of the judiciary could only be affected through a resolution, after which a notification would be issued.
He said that since according to The Judges Act, the total strength of the judges of Supreme Court has been determined to be 17, this would be augmented to 27 after the reinstatement of the deposed judges and would require an amendment which would take time.
He said that a committee had been formed to decide whether the judiciary would be reinstated by a resolution or an executive order, with Sharif and Zardari having the ultimate right to make the final decision.
Zardari, who returned to Islamabad from Dubai on Friday evening, will start deliberations with Asfandyar Wali and Maulana Fazlur Rehman within the next few days.
If they fail to reach any consensus, the deadline might be extended till all the coalition partners reach consensus on the mode of the restoration of judges.
In the meantime, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has reportedly agreed to let his power under Article 58(2) b of the Constitution be taken away, but has insisted for a legal cover for all actions he took as Army Chief after imposing the state of emergency on Nov 3 last year.
The Article 58(2) b of the Pakistani Constitution guarantees powers to the President to dissolve the National Assembly.
Musharraf is learnt to have conveyed this to PPP co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari recently, after Zardari and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif agreed in Dubai to reinstate the judges sacked by Musharraf last year.
Musharraf's condition put before the coalition government, of not reversing his decisions, implies that the suspended judges would not be restored, which further means that deposed chief justice Iftikhar Choudhary, who poses the greatest danger for Musharraf, would also be not reinstalled as the country's chief justice, much to likeness of the President. In the event of Justice Iftikhar installed again as Pakistan chief justice, Musharraf would be at the risk of being declared (by Iftikhar) as an illegal and unconstitutional President)
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, reported the Dawn.
Besides, the President also held meetings with his political aides, and 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.
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. (ANI)
