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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistan: Top judges reinstated 'to avoid military coup' |
| 2009-03-17 |
| (AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Pakistan's leaders have been forced to resolve their differences with opposition leader Nawaz Sharif and reinstate sacked top judges, after the threat of a military takeover by the army chief general Ashfaq Parvez Kiyani, unnamed sources told Adnkronos International (AKI). In a major concession, the government on Monday announced that the sacked Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other judges sacked by former president Pervez Musharraf would be reinstated. The opposition, including sacked lawyers and other political activists, immediately cancelled a rally in the capital, Islamabad, after the decision. A US-brokered deal persuaded president Asif Ali Zardari to accept a face-saving deal that included a review of the Supreme Court decision on the disqualification of Sharif and his brother, Shahbaz, from holding elected office and lifting the governor's rule in Punjab, the most populous province. Nawaz Sharif had made it clear that nothing less than the restoration of deposed judges to the previous positions they held in 2007 would be acceptable. The leader of the PML-N, Nawaz, had been barred from elected office and Shahbaz had been forced to step down as chief justice of Punjab province. All efforts for a peaceful reconciliation appeared to backfire on Saturday despite intense efforts by US secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Clinton spoke to Zardari, Sharif and General Kiyani to put in place acceptable solutions and defuse the conflict. Earlier, US envoy Richard Holbrooke, US ambassador Anne W. Peterson and other officials had been working late last week in a bid to find a peaceful reconciliation between the lawyers, opposition parties and the government. Observers had expected that American mediation would resolve the political differences between the government and the opposition, but when thousands of people marched on the streets in Lahore and demanded the restoration of judiciary, talks stalled. That failure finally prompted Washington to tell Pakistan's army chief to do whatever he needed to do to prevent the country falling into any serious political anarchy. When the political deadlock continued on 15 March as lawyers marched in protest towards the capital, some sources said General Kiyani met the prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and told him in clear terms that if the two parties failed to reach agreement he would have be left with no choice and a military take over would be inevitable. Kiyani threatened to install Shahbaz Sharif as interim prime minister for three months and call fresh elections, according to the sources. Gillani conveyed the message to Zardari and then a meeting was arranged between Gillani and Shahbaz Sharif. Both agreed on a particular formula which was announced early on Monday. "I restore the deposed chief justice and others according to the promise made by me and the president," Gillani said in a televised address to the nation. The prime minister also announced the reinstatement of two other sacked Supreme Court judges. He said "a notification to this effect is being issued now." He said Chaudhry would replace Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, who is to retire on 21 March. Chaudhry was suspended by Musharraf in March 2007, sparking a wave of protests. Lawyers and political activists were jubilant after Monday's announcement and many danced outside Chaudhry's home in celebration. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 All this has done is to ensure the army WILL take over in some not too distant future. Pakistan is a totally failed state, with a slow-motion civil war eating away at anything that might keep them from total disaster. The army will take over anyway within a year, out of necessity. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2009-03-17 14:08 |
| #1 "...after the threat of a military takeover by the army chief general Ashfaq Parvez Kiyani..." Doesn't this constitute, oh, I dunno, TREASON? |
| Posted by: mojo 2009-03-17 12:45 |