March 17, 2007	Saturday	Safar 27, 1428

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LAHORE, March 16: The government’s act of suspending the chief justice of Pakistan has led to a grave crisis which must be resolved within the framework of the 1973 Constitution, says MQM central coordination committee deputy convener Dr Farooq Sattar.

Addressing a news conference here on Friday, the MQM MNA said: “Though the MQM is the coalition partner of the government, the party does not approve of the filing of a reference against Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and suspending from the office, and our party has not been consulted over the issue.”

He said the dispute was constitutional and should not be politicised and should be resolved only within the constitutional scheme of things. He said MQM Chief Altaf Husain was the first to react against the “unfortunate episode” which had led the country to a critical state of affairs.

Also the chairperson of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee, Dr Sattar said as a coalition partner of the government the MQM was under an obligation to render an advice to the government to show magnanimity in resolving the crisis. “We have asked the government to handle the situation with extreme care and caution as the use of any force could push the country to a political impasse.”

“We feel particularly disturbed by the way a lawyers’ rally was manhandled in Lahore on March 13 and the incidents taking place in Islamabad and elsewhere in the country,” he said.

Sattar demanded the government release the arrested lawyers and politicians and stop raids for the arrest of more of them. He said the MQM had informed the government that the party supported the government only for the restoration of democracy as enunciated by President Pervez Musharraf in his seven-point agenda which promised the return to a civilian rule and the rule of law. If the MQM found any deviation from the pledge, it had its own options.

The news conference was primarily held to announce Javed Shah, a former US president of the Pakistan People’s Party, joining the MQM. Javed said he decided to join the MQM because the PPP had deviated from its basic pro-people programmes and had inducted feudal in the party.