Compromise in sight to put an end to tortuous turmoil: government may announce constitutional package today

The government may announce a constitutional package today (Saturday) following hectic political and diplomatic efforts to resolve the ongoing political stand off ahead of lawyers long march and sit in. Sources said that a meeting was going on in the Presidency till the filing of this report on Friday night to find a way out.
They said that the government has agreed to replace Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani may announce the package in the National Assembly on Saturday. They said though there was a deadlock over the restoration of deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, but a positive development was expected in the next 24 hours.
The package, sources said, envisages that the Prime Minister will file a review petition against the disqualification of Sharif brothers and announce restoration of deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry apart from constituting a judicial commission that would decide the fate of all those judges who had taken oath under Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) in line with the Charter of Democracy (CoD).
Governors Rule would be lifted and the Punjab government restored to the position of February 25. However, the Presidency has denied that any proposal was being considered for the reinstatement of deposed Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry as CJP and removal of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer.
President Spokesman Farhatullah Babar clarified that neither the restoration of Justice Iftikhar is presently being considered nor any other major decision is on the cards. These are speculations and we will inform the media if any such thing happened," he added.
The rumours about the reconciliation through a constitutional package came following Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayanis separate meetings with the Prime Minister and the President earlier in the day.
After the army chief meeting with both the leaders, a one-on-one meeting was held between Prime Minister Gilani and President Zardari to consider different options to defuse the tension. It was reported that the military establishment has asked the Prime Minister to play his role in bringing down the political temperature in the country.
The PM was said to have been asked to convince the President to demonstrate flexibility required to break the present deadlock. The US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson also met with the Prime Minister on Friday while British Foreign Secretary David Miliband spoke on telephone with PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif which gave the impression that the deal was backed by the Washington and London.
DPA ADDS: Pakistans civilian leaders on Friday were nearing a compromise to ease the political tension as authorities detained hundreds of more opposition workers to impede long march on Islamabad against the government, media reports said.
The so-called long march for an independent judiciary has raised concerns in Washington and other western countries capitals, which want the country to focus on fight against Taliban and al Qaeda militants. Army chief General Ashfaq Parevez Kayani held separate meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. According to media reports, he pressed both to resolve their differences with the opposition. Gilani and Zardari also held a one-on-one meeting.
A private television channel claimed that Zardari had agreed to accept some demands of the organisers of the march, and requested for more time for the rest. Aaj Television reported that "important announcements were expected within the next 24 hours." The lawyers, backed by civil society group, launched long march from Karachi and Quetta on Thursday.
Nawaz Sharif has thrown his weight behind the protest campaign after a controversial court verdict barring him and brother Shahbaz Sharif, from holding public office. Law-enforcement agencies have taken around 1,000 people into custody under a ban imposed in three provinces, with most of arrests in Punjab, officials said. Thousands of paramilitary troops are called in Islamabad and the law enforcement agencies have seized more than 10,000 containers and trucks to block roads across the country to prevent demonstrators from reaching Islamabad. Simultaneously, countrys powerful military and western allies were making efforts for reconciliation between the rivals.
A political deal, backed by Washington and London, has been conveyed to Gilani by Pakistani Army, which has intervened in such situations in the past. Though this time the military does not seem interested in taking over: it wants the dispute to be settled. Gilani has been given 24 hours to convince President Zardari to accept it, an English-language daily reported on Friday.
Under the deal, the disqualification of Sharif brothers by the court would be reversed and Justice Chaudhry be reinstated. The report also claimed that Kayani urged Gilani on Thursday to play his "constitutional and legal" role to calm down the situation. Some reports suggested that Gilani and Zardari were at par on the issue.
However, Zardaris spokesman Farhatullah Babar denied the report. "Its all absurd. There is no proposal under discussion to restore former chief justice; neither there are any differences between Mr Zardari and Gilani," he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).
Richard Holbrooke held a teleconference with Zardari, along with Anne W Patterson. Despite political and diplomatic manoeuvring, the crackdown on the lawyers and the opposition workers continued on Friday. The police stopped Ali Ahmed Kurd, a leader of lawyers, and scores of his supporters, from entering Sindh, from where the group planned to travel to Lahore before marching on the capital. After marching overnight, Kurd and his supporters returned to Quetta, with plans to move directly to Islamabad.