ISLAMABAD, Aug 22: Pakistan Muslim League-N has agreed to extend the deadline for the reinstatement of deposed judges till Wednesday.
However, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said Pakistan People’s Party’s co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had told him that he wanted more time to resolve the issue on the demand of “those people who played an important role” in the resignation of former president Pervez Musharraf.
PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif announced on Friday that the pre-Nov 3, 2007, judiciary should be restored on Aug 27 through a parliamentary resolution.
Mr Sharif had earlier threatened to quit the ruling coalition if the judges were not reinstated by Friday.
He said at a news conference after meeting Awami National Party’s president Asfandyar Wali Khan and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman that “Wednesday should be the day of reinstatement of the judges”. Maulana Fazl said there could be a difference of a day or two either way, but the resolution would be adopted next week.
Federal Law Minister Farooq H. Naek told a television channel that he was not aware of any new deadline.
He said Asif Zardari had told him that a committee had been constituted to draft the resolution and its first meeting would be held on Sunday evening.
The committee comprises Mr Naek, Raza Rabbani and Sherry Rehman, representing the PPP, and Ishaq Dar and Ahsan Iqbal of the PML-N.
PML-N leader Khawaja Asif expressed apprehension that there would be no outcome of the debate on the resolution.
The leaders of the ANP and the JUI-F had been given three days by the two major parties in the coalition to come up with a proposal to resolve differences between them on the issue.
They had suggested that a resolution seeking reinstatement of the deposed judges, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, should be moved in the National Assembly in accordance with the Murree Declaration, but it should be debated thoroughly before the reinstatement.
The PPP had earlier agreed to bring a resolution in the assembly for a debate.
Mr Sharif announced that the resolution would be drafted by a committee of the representatives of the PPP and the PML-N over the next two days and it would be introduced in the assembly on Monday.
He said there would be a debate on Monday and Tuesday and the resolution would be adopted on Wednesday.
Mr Sharif was of the view that the two parties had already worked on the draft and time should not be wasted on it.
He said the restoration of the judiciary without Justice Iftikhar would be ‘a joke’.
The PML-N chief said he had agreed to extend the deadline again because he did not want the coalition to collapse.
He had earlier declared that his party would have no choice but to sit in the opposition if the judges were not reinstated in line with the commitment made by PPP in the Murree Declaration.
Under the declaration signed in March, the deposed judges had to be reinstated within 30 days after the formation of the federal government.
Later, the two parties agreed to extend the deadline till May 12 after which nine ministers belonging to the PML-N quit the cabinet of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.
Later, during three days of hectic talks earlier this month, the coalition allies agreed that they would reinstate the judges within 24 hours after the ouster of Gen (retd) Musharraf.
On Tuesday, a day after the former president’s resignation, Mr Sharif left a meeting of the heads of the parties in the coalition when Mr Zardari sought more time for reinstating the judges. At that point, Asfandyar Wali and Maulana Fazl sought time till Friday to resolve the issue.