LAHORE, Jan 22: Former governor and chief minister Malik Ghulam Mustafa Khar said on Thursday the forced dissolution of the Punjab government may cause an irreparable loss to the federation.

At a meeting of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) before the weekly protest march of lawyers for the restoration of chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Mr Khar said the (federal) government should think about the repercussions before trying to dissolve the Punjab government because it was losing public support and did not have the backing of the armed forces.

Nawaz Sharif had become an undisputed leader and even Pakistan People’s Party workers were deserting the government owing to continuation of the policies of Gen Pervez Musharraf (retired).

He said neither President Asif Ali Zardari nor Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani deserved the offices they were holding. The prime minister compromised his constitutional powers to retain his office. He claimed that the decision to make Zardari president had been taken during negotiations when he was in jail. A general advised him (Khar) to maintain friendly relations with Zardari. He could not even imagine at that time that Zardari would become the president.

He said he had gone to London and asked Benazir Bhutto not to return to the country after negotiating with Musharraf because it would make Mr Sharif an undisputed leader. He also opposed Benazir’s return publicly later on because she was not being asked to come back to become the prime minister. The decision makers wanted to elevate Zardari because he could do what BB could not have done. Zardari, however, could not become the president as long as BB was alive. The decision makers wanted the Pakistan Muslim League-Q to form the government after the election, but it failed to win the majority after Mr Sharif returned as a result of the lawyers’ movement, he said.

He said he had decided to join the lawyers’ movement because only a strong and independent judiciary could prevent martial law. He said the army seized power only when it was sure that there would be no resistance. There was, however, no difference between civilian and army rulers because both wanted to run government as dictators. He said the lawyers’ movement was destined to succeed because it had stood the test of time.

He said the present government could not end loadshedding because of its incompetence. The private power generation system was also infested with massive corruption. India had allowed setting up of coal thermal power plants to buy electricity at the rate of two cents per unit, but Pakistan was signing contracts to buy thermal power for 12 to 14 cents per unit.

LHCBA President Anwar Kamal said the lawyers’ movement would continue till the restoration of Nov 2, 2007, judiciary. He said the bar would also submit a petition signed by 10 million people to parliament for the restoration of judges.