April 15, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 8, 1429

ISLAMABAD, April 14: Law Minister Farooq H. Naek has said that the heads of the ruling coalition parties will decide on Wednesday whether the issue of reinstatement of deposed judges should be taken up by a cabinet committee or a parliamentary committee.

“The issue of restoration of judges has to be decided ultimately by parliament,” the minister told DawnNews on Monday.

He said Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif, Awami National Party head Asfandyar Wali and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman would meet on Wednesday.

He said the cabinet had decided in its first meeting to form a committee to resolve the issue and representatives of all the coalition partners had agreed to the proposal. Then suggestions came for the formation of a parliamentary committee headed by the law minister, he said.

The minister hinted at repealing the arbitrary powers enjoyed by the president, and said that there was consensus among the parties to revoke provisions which were not in the original Constitution.

He said the provisions included Article 58(2)b, which empowered the president to dissolve the National Assembly and dismiss the government, and appointment of governors and services chiefs.

In reply to a question, Mr Naek said parliament would decide about the validity of Article 270AAA under which all actions taken by President Pervez Musharraf as army chief while proclaiming the state of emergency had been validated.

“Only those amendments will be considered to have been validly made which are incorporated following procedures prescribed in Articles 238 and 239,” he said.

About repealing the Frontiers Crimes Regulations (FCR) 1901, the minister said the government would come out with a law in accordance with the wishes of the people of the NWFP while considering earlier reports on the subject by the provincial government and the Senate committee concerned. He said the law ministry had sent to the prime minister’s secretariat names of the parliamentarians proposed for inclusion in the committee on FCR.