Talks to restore judges deadlocked in Pak, Sharif threatens Govt

Pakistan’s month-old government faced its first major crisis after talks on reinstatement of judges were deadlocked.

Pakistan’s month-old government faced its first major crisis on Tuesday after talks on reinstatement of judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf were deadlocked, prompting Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N to threaten withdrawal of its ministers from cabinet.

Two days of parleys between Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and a PML-N team lead by party president Shahbaz Sharif in Dubai ended inconclusively today with both parties failing to finalise modalities for restoring the judges despite a 30-day deadline set to expire tomorrow.

The PML-N had sent a team for consultations with Zardari, who is currently in Dubai to meet his family.

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Sources said the talks ran into rough weather over two issues the PPP’s decision to link the restoration of the judges to a constitutional package for judicial reforms, and the tenure for deposed Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry once he is restored.

PML-N spokesman Siddique-ul-Farooq admitted the talks had run into problems and warned his party might withdraw its ministers from the cabinet if the deadline for restoring the judges is not met.

He, however, said the PML-N would not take any step that would “damage” the coalition government.

“Our joining of the federal cabinet was conditional. We will review the decision and we may withdraw our ministers from the cabinet but that is still a supposition,” Farooq said.

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The PML-N, he said, is hopeful that both parties would fulfil “their solemn pledge to the nation” on reinstating the sacked judges.

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