Though Pakistan has become a house of problems - shortage of flour, skyrocketing prices of food items, long and frequent loading shedding, unprecedented trade imbalance, unbridgeable budget deficit, unemployment, increasing poverty, water shortage, environmental degradation and population explosion to name a few, yet restoration of pre-2nd November 2007 judiciary has taken the centre stage.
Political analysts say Pakistan Peoples Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League Quaid Mohammad Nawaz Sharif are meeting in Islamabad this week to hammer out the simmering differences between the two main coalition partners on the Judges restoration issue.
They say though the PPP reiterates its commitment to the Bhurban Declaration, yet one should not forget that the controversial "National Reconciliation Ordinance" issued by President Musharraf in early October 2007, is the father of the present political and administrative set up in the country and the PPP leadership is its main beneficiary.
They recall that NRO paved the way for PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto's return to Pakistan after 11 years in exile, withdrawal of all pre-1998 criminal and other cases of corruption against her and her party colleagues and unhindered participation of PPP in the 2008 general elections.
They say in return the PPP must have made some commitments to the international facilitators of the NRO like USA and UK and the Pakistan establishment including the one that it would work with President Mushrraf in the war against terrorism. " At one time late Benazir Bhutto had stated in an interview that PPP can work with Musharraf", they point out.
They further point out that Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar's recent statement that "President Musharraf is a national asset and saleable commodity" has disturbed the PML-N and it might rethink its alliance with PPP since under no circumstances it was ready to accept Musharraf in the Aiwan-e-Sadar.
The analysts attach a great importance to a lengthy meeting between PML-N Mohammad Nawaz Sharif and die hard pro-Judges, Amir Jamat-e-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmad here on Saturday as it may lead to new political alignment in the country.
Both these leaders have emphatically demanded restoration of judges within 30 days of the formation of the Federal Cabinet as it was a national requirement to end " the palace intrigues" and put the country on the constitutionalism and democratic path.
However the Federal Law Minister Farooque H. Naek has opined that the restoration of pre-2nd November judiciary was a complicated legal matter, therefore an experts committee should recommend the modalities of the resolution of this complex problem, to which PML-N does not agree.
The PML-N as well as the lawyers community are of the opinion that the 62 "deposed" judges of the Supreme Court and the four High Courts could be restored through an "Executive" order and there was no need of any amendment in the constitution by a two third majority.
They say in order to remove any doubts and give parliamentary force to the executive order as an abundant caution, the National Assembly should pass a resolution to the effect that "notwithstanding any our judgement, the provisional constitution order and the oath of the Judges on 3rd November 2007 has no validity in law as it has not been approved by the Parliament as per Article 238 and 239 of the Constitution.
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