April 12, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 5, 1429

ISLAMABAD, April 11: The heads of parties in the ruling coalition will meet next week to resolve the issue of restoring the pre-emergency judiciary amid reported differences among them over a proposal to form a parliamentary committee on the matter.

“We are not in favour of forming any parliamentary committee or constitutional package for restoring the deposed judges,” Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the parliamentary leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N in the National Assembly, told reporters after a meeting of the group on Friday.

He said the Bhurban declaration had pledged to reinstate the judges through a resolution, without mentioning any constitutional package or special parliamentary committee. Suggestions like a parliamentary committee or constitutional package would only complicate things, he asserted.

However, a legal expert of the Pakistan People’s Party said on condition of anonymity that the cabinet in its first meeting had constituted two parliamentary committees to give suggestions on repealing the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) 1901 and reinstating the deposed judges.

He said the cabinet had taken the decision unanimously and the meeting had been attended by ministers from the coalition partners.

He said Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan would also attend the meeting with PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari scheduled for next week.

“It should not be an issue of ego because we all believe that the matter should be resolved in accordance with the law and the Constitution,” he said.

Chaudhry Nisar brushed aside a perception about a deadlock between the signatories of the Bhurban declaration but conceded that modalities for reinstating the judges were yet to be worked out.

“We are not going to budge an inch on the issue of restoration of the deposed judges,” he asserted.

He expressed satisfaction over PPP’s reiteration that it was committed to the declaration.

“We also had talks at the highest level on Thursday,” Chaudhry Nisar said and expressed the hope that the matter would be sorted out.

Justifying the need for forming the parliamentary committee, the PPP source said that all the 342 MNAs could not sit to decide the modalities for reinstating the judges. “It is not a big issue,” he said, adding that the PPP would abide by the decisions taken in Bhurban.

“Our foremost concern should be nothing but reinstatement of the pre-emergency judiciary without going into technicalities,” he said.

PML-N leader Abid Sher Ali said Mr Sharif would preside over a meeting of the party’s parliamentary group before discussing the issue with Mr Zardari next week.