Under pressure and isolated,Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari today agreed to reinstate Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and meet other demands of Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif who offered to work towards reconciliation with the ruling PPP. As the three-week-old political crisis was defused,Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani telephoned Sharif who expressed readiness to evolve a joint strategy with the PPP for political reconciliation. Sharif called off the march to Parliament shortly after Gilani announced reinstatement of Chaudhry. Amid scenes of jubilation,Sharif pledged to bring real democracy in the country. In a televised address to the nation at dawn,Gilani also announced that the government would file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the February 25 order barring Sharif and his brother Shahbaz from contesting elections and holding public offices,a move that could bring back Shahbaz as Punjab Chief Minister. The dramatic announcement capped a night of high drama and hectic consultations among Zardari,Gilani,Army chief Ashfaq Kayani and other leaders. Kayani is believed to have been instrumental in convincing Zardari to relent. Holding out despite intense pressure from the US,Zardari yielded hours before Sharif was to lead a long march to Parliament. Chaudhry,sacked in 2007 during the Emergency by then President Pervez Musharraf,will assume office on March 21 when current Pakistan Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar retires. A notification reinstating Chaudhry and nine other sacked judges was issued by the government later in the day. While Chaudhrys reinstatement may cool down temperatures for the time being,Sharif,who parted ways with Zardari for not honouring pledges,may still work to see him out of the Presidential House. also see page 12
