John
03-22-2009, 05:38 PM
While the reinstatement of Iftikhar Chaudhry as Supreme Court chief justice defused the crisis, tensions have lingered on expectations of a power struggle between pro-West Zardari and Sharif, starting with a battle for control of Punjab province.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani sought to allay those fears when he met with Sharif.
"The Prime Minister has given a message by President, which I think is welcomed," Sharif told a joint news conference with Gilani at the opposition leader's residence outside the eastern city of Lahore.
"I think it is need of the time, it's the need of Pakistan and in line with the aspiration of the people," Sharif said.
Zardari, elected by parliament six months ago, reluctantly reinstated Chaudhry after a mass protest organised by lawyers and led by Sharif, a politician who appeals to conservative religious, nationalist sentiments.
The army, the United States and Britain helped convince Zardari to compromise amid fears that violence would escalate.
Sharif has become the most popular politician in Pakistan, partly because of his staunch support for Chaudhry, who became a cause celebre after then-president and army chief General Pervez Musharraf fired him in November 2007 fearing that the judge would spoil his plan to hold on to power.
Western allies worry that any political disorder in nuclear-armed Pakistan would help al Qaeda, the Taliban and other militant groups deepen their presence in the Muslim nation of 170 million people.
The meeting between Gilani and Sharif showed both sides had withdrawn from confrontation, and were communicating once more.
"As far as the reconciliation is concerned, we are moving towards it and there will be no obstacle in it," Gilani said.
The government has asked the Supreme Court to suspend a ruling on February 25 that disqualified Sharif and his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, from holding elected office.
That ruling, handed down late last month, had prompted Zardari to impose central rule over Punjab province, ousting the provincial government led by Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party.
Gilani said he wanted to end central, or governor's, rule in Punjab, the most populous and influential of Pakistan's four provinces, and let whichever party had a majority form a new government there.
Sharif said the next steps forward should include implementation of a "Charter for Democracy" that he and fellow former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Zardari's late wife, had agreed in 2006, a year before their return from exile.
Sharif also reiterated his call for changes in the constitution, to remove sweeping presidential powers and strengthen the role of parliament and the prime minister.
In Islamabad, hundreds of jubilant lawyers and political and rights activists gathered outside Chaudhry's residence for a flag-hoisting ceremony to mark his formal reinstatement as Supreme Court chief justice on Sunday.
On Tuesday, he will return to the Supreme Court he was evicted from on the night of November 3, 2007, when Musharraf declared emergency rule.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani sought to allay those fears when he met with Sharif.
"The Prime Minister has given a message by President, which I think is welcomed," Sharif told a joint news conference with Gilani at the opposition leader's residence outside the eastern city of Lahore.
"I think it is need of the time, it's the need of Pakistan and in line with the aspiration of the people," Sharif said.
Zardari, elected by parliament six months ago, reluctantly reinstated Chaudhry after a mass protest organised by lawyers and led by Sharif, a politician who appeals to conservative religious, nationalist sentiments.
The army, the United States and Britain helped convince Zardari to compromise amid fears that violence would escalate.
Sharif has become the most popular politician in Pakistan, partly because of his staunch support for Chaudhry, who became a cause celebre after then-president and army chief General Pervez Musharraf fired him in November 2007 fearing that the judge would spoil his plan to hold on to power.
Western allies worry that any political disorder in nuclear-armed Pakistan would help al Qaeda, the Taliban and other militant groups deepen their presence in the Muslim nation of 170 million people.
The meeting between Gilani and Sharif showed both sides had withdrawn from confrontation, and were communicating once more.
"As far as the reconciliation is concerned, we are moving towards it and there will be no obstacle in it," Gilani said.
The government has asked the Supreme Court to suspend a ruling on February 25 that disqualified Sharif and his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, from holding elected office.
That ruling, handed down late last month, had prompted Zardari to impose central rule over Punjab province, ousting the provincial government led by Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party.
Gilani said he wanted to end central, or governor's, rule in Punjab, the most populous and influential of Pakistan's four provinces, and let whichever party had a majority form a new government there.
Sharif said the next steps forward should include implementation of a "Charter for Democracy" that he and fellow former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Zardari's late wife, had agreed in 2006, a year before their return from exile.
Sharif also reiterated his call for changes in the constitution, to remove sweeping presidential powers and strengthen the role of parliament and the prime minister.
In Islamabad, hundreds of jubilant lawyers and political and rights activists gathered outside Chaudhry's residence for a flag-hoisting ceremony to mark his formal reinstatement as Supreme Court chief justice on Sunday.
On Tuesday, he will return to the Supreme Court he was evicted from on the night of November 3, 2007, when Musharraf declared emergency rule.