ISLAMABAD, Aug 21: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has made up its mind to resolve the lingering issue of reinstatement of the deposed judges through a parliamentary debate and a resolution in this regard is expected to be moved in the National Assembly in a few days.

Initially some PPP leaders indicated that the resolution might be introduced in the National Assembly on Friday morning even before a scheduled meeting of heads of the ruling coalition parties, but later federal Minister for Information Sherry Rehman told Dawn that it might be tabled “in a couple of days”.

When first media reports came about the PPP’s plan on Thursday, the PML-N leaders expressed their surprise over the move and suspected that it could be another tactic of the PPP to delay the process. Apparently, the PPP dropped the idea of bringing the resolution on Friday after PML-N leaders lodged a strong protest that the plan had been announced without taking their party into confidence.

Federal Minister for Labour and a key PPP leader told a private television that his party had finally decided to table the resolution in the National Assembly for a debate on the issue that had gripped the nation for 17 months. He, however, declined to divulge details of the plan and did not say how long the debate would go on and whether the judges would be restored after the debate. The PPP leader said the parliament was sovereign and it should decide the issue of judges.

When contacted, PML-N information secretary Ahsan Iqbal said that so far the party had not received any formal proposal from the PPP on the plan to move the resolution. “I will comment only after knowing as to what is the exact proposal,” he added.

He, however, explained that the PPP and the PML-N had agreed to reinstate the deposed judges and the parliamentary resolution was just a formality. He was of the view that the modalities for reinstating the judges had already been defined. He also expressed surprise as to how could the PPP table a resolution in the National Assembly in the morning when ANP president Asfandyar Wali Khan and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman would be meeting PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif at noon.

The PPP has convened a meeting of its Central Executive Committee (CEC) at Zardari House on Friday afternoon whereas a meeting of the coalition heads was expected to take place later in the evening.

PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has already declared that if the judges were not restored by Friday then the party would have no choice but to sit in the opposition benches.

On Tuesday, PPP and PML-N leaders had failed to resolve their differences over the issue of the judges’ reinstatement and on the question of providing indemnity to the acts of former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf.

According to the sources, Asfandyar Wali Khan had saved the day for the coalition by offering to play the role of a mediator after Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif refused to show flexibility on their stand on the issue of the deposed judges. Later, the ANP president and JUI-F chief sought 72 hours to resolve the issue and promised to come up with a proposal on Friday.

The PML-N wants restoration of the deposed judges immediately through an executive order in accordance with the Murree Declaration signed by the two parties in March, whereas the PPP seeks more time.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued by the PML-N Secretariat, Nawaz Sharif said: “Reinstatement of the deposed judges is not merely an issue of the PML-N, rather it was the basis on which the ruling coalition was formed and the whole coalition affirmed many times its uncompromised will to restore all of the deposed judges to their pre-November 2, 2007 position.”

While joining the coalition, he said, the PML-N had set forth no conditions but only sought guarantees on the same issue. Therefore, he said, the only way to avoid disintegration of the coalition and to ensure its further integrity and unity was immediate fulfilment of the commitments made with the civil society, general public and the legal fraternity by restoring the ousted judges without any “minus one or minus two formula”.

Mr Sharif said the ruling coalition had become the epicentre of the hopes of the Pakistani nation after it had given a clear and vigorous mandate against dictatorship.

Mr Sharif said the people of Pakistan would not forgive the ruling coalition, if the judges were not restored in compliance with the Murree Declaration. “The coalition parties promised several times to restore the deposed judges, but every time it was delayed without any tangible reason and solid ground which was absolutely an unjust act on the part of the parties who made these commitments,” he added. The deadlines of April 30 and May 12 had passed without resolution of the issue but the main hurdle in the way of such execution has already been removed after resignation of President Musharraf.