Nawaz agrees to retain PCO judges: May 12 new deadline for judiciary’s restoration
However, his party had to make some compromises, particularly agreeing to retain the PCO judges, in return for Pakistan People’s Party’s cooperation.
“The National Assembly will pass a resolution seeking reinstatement of the unconstitutionally and illegally deposed judges to their offices, to be followed by a notification by the government the same day,” Mr Sharif said at a press conference after a PML-N leadership meeting here on Friday.
He said a committee of legal experts would take care of the details.
Law Minister Farooq H. Naek will head the committee comprising Supreme Court Bar Association president Aitzaz Ahsan, former law minister Abdul Hafeez Peerzada, Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, Senator Raza Rabbani and Khwaja Haris, a Lahore-based lawyer who has represented the Sharif brothers in some cases. All members of the committee, with the exception of Mr Peerzada, are outspoken advocates of reinstatement of the judges.
Mr Sharif said the committee would refer the matter to the top leadership of both the coalition partners in case of a deadlock.
He said he saw no harm in accepting some of PPP’s demands over the issue, even if it amounted to the PML-N having to make some compromises.
“We expressed concern at the PCO judges but they insisted that they should be retained. We had to sacrifice (our stance) on some of the issues for a greater cause.”
He said a constitutional package for ‘judicial reforms’ would also be introduced but it would not be linked with the resolution.
Various teams would work on points proposed to be included in the package and a solution acceptable to all the stakeholders would be found through consultations, he said.
When asked if the package would review the tenure of the chief justice and curtail his powers to take suo motu action, Mr Sharif said consultations would be held in the light of the Charter of Democracy and agreed points would be incorporated.
He rejected a perception that the PPP was reluctant to cooperate on the reinstatement plan and that its co-chairman Asif Zardari had avoided holding a joint press conference with him on the issue.
The PML-N chief said that the two parties had decided during the Dubai talks that he would address a press conference to make the announcement.
The former prime minister said both sides had held the talks with a realisation that keeping their alliance intact was essential for taking many other important decisions, such as implementing the Charter of Democracy.
The alliance, he said, would work to repeal the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, disband the National Security Council and curb ‘authoritarian powers’ of the president.
Mr Sharif denied that his meeting with US Ambassador Anne W. Patterson here on Friday had anything to do with the judges’ issue.