July 30, 2008	Wednesday	Rajab 26, 1429

ISLAMABAD, July 29: Only a day after Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar had ruled out any move to offer fresh oath to deposed judges, federal Law Minister Farooq H. Naek said the judges could take a new oath if they wanted to be reinstated.

In a statement issued here on Tuesday, the law minister said the PPP-led government sincerely desired to reinstate the deposed judges and, therefore, he had “always suggested” to them (the judges) to take oath under the Constitution, which was a “constitutional requirement”.

It may be mentioned that on Monday, Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar told journalists in Bhurban while replying to a question that there was no truth in reports that the “deposed judges of Sindh and Lahore high courts are going to take fresh oath”.

The CJ had gone to Bhurban where the PPP and the PML-N leaders had signed a declaration announcing that the deposed judges would be restored within 30 days of the formation of the federal government through a National Assembly resolution, to attend a seminar on “Importance of a competition regime” organised by the World Bank and the UK-based DFID. Justice Dogar also asked journalists who were the people spreading such ‘false’ news.

Mr Naek said that he stood for bringing back the deposed judges of their positions with “seniority, pay packages and any other privilege for which they were entitled when they were working as judges until November 3 last year, the day the then COAS, Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, imposed emergency in the country and issued his own Provisional Constitution Order (PCO)”.

Apparently criticising the lawyers’ movement, the minister said political rallies and demonstrations in this regard were not the answer to the problem. “Either we do politics or we do justice,” the law minister said, adding: “If we want to do politics then demonstrations are the right option but if we want to do justice then the only viable option is to follow the Constitution.”