ISLAMABAD, Jan 10: British parliamentarian Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, currently on a visit to Pakistan, has expressed the hope that the government will soon fulfil its promise of reinstating deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

During a meeting with Justice Iftikhar at his residence on Saturday, Mr Sarwar appreciated the position taken by him and his role for the independence of the judiciary. Mr Sarwar said he held the lawyers’ movement in high esteem.

The British lawmaker said Pakistani society was alive to its social responsibilities and it was very encouraging to see that foreign delegations supported their stance on the issue of judiciary. He said it was necessary to restore people’s confidence in judiciary.

Mr Sarwar expressed the hope that the lawyers’ long march to be held in March would be a success like their previous one last year.

At a meeting with Law Minister Farooq H. Naek, the British lawmaker said although there were some complications in the restoration of Justice Iftikhar, the government should honour its commitment in this regard.

Meanwhile, a group of British parliamentarians visiting the country hold a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza in the Parliament House.

The speaker told the delegation that the government was confronting challenges that could be overcome with the support of people and friendly countries.

She said that Pakistan attached great importance to its relations with Britain and both countries had commonalities of views and perceptions on regional and global issues. Pakistan wanted peace and stability in the region.

She said people were pinning hopes on the elected parliament and expressed the hope that it would come up to the expectations of the people.

Dr Fehmida said the parliament and government should be given a chance to complete their tenures so that they could work for the people.

The speaker underlined the need for frequent exchange of parliamentary delegations between Pakistan and Britain for the exchange of views and experiences.

The British lawmakers comprising Jim McGovern, Jim Divine, Mark Fisher, and Chaudhry Sarwar said Pakistan was an important country and its role was essential for the progress and prosperity of the region.

They said Pakistani community in the United Kingdom was playing an important role for prosperity and economic development of the country.

Mr Sarwar said Britain would provide £480 million in three years for the development of education, health and civic amenities in Pakistan. This was the second largest overseas programme of the British government.

The meeting was attended by National Assembly Deputy-Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi, Ambassador-at-large Javed Malik and National Assembly members Nafeesa Shah, Bushra Gohar, Abdur Rasheed, Nadeem Afzal Chan and Anjum Aqeel.