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Politicians must honour their commitment: Nawaz Sharif
Published on Mon, May 12, 2008 at 23:20, Updated on Mon, May 12, 2008 at 23:33 in World section
Tags: Pakistan Government, PPP , New Delhi
POWER PLAY: Only six weeks old Pakistan's coalition Government is already on shaky ground.
New Delhi: The deadlock over judges finally proved to be intractable. PML-N chief and former premier Nawaz Sharif pulled his nine ministers out of the 24-member Cabinet on Monday.
This on the day a second deadline to restore judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf last year expired.
Only six weeks old Pakistan's coalition Government is already on shaky ground after the PML-N's deadline to restore judges sacked by president Musharraf on November 3, 2007 was ignored by the PPP.
For Nawaz Sharif it wasn’t just a broken promise. It was a question of his credibility. The PML had made restoration of suspended judges an election plank.
They wanted Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and 59 other judges to be restored unconditionally.
But for the PPP a restored Chaudhry could overturn all President Musharraf's orders, including his amnesty to Asif Ali Zardari in corruption cases.
Another core difference was on what to do with the present judiciary appointed by Musharraf.
Sharif said keeping them in position would amount to a conspiracy to strengthen dictatorship.
The fragile coalition has survived for now. The PML will continue to sit in the treasury benches. Nawaz saying he'll offer issue based support in the interest of democracy.
And though Sharif was silent on the fate of the Punjab government, where the PML is the senior partner and PPP the junior partner, Zardari told CNN-IBN that his ministers would continue in the Cabinet.
Even so, behind all the talk of working together in national interest, Pakistan will likely witness more political turmoil in the days ahead.
PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif spoke to CNN-IBN about the latest development in Pakistan. Here is an excerpt of the interview.
Q: Are you frustrated? Do you feel disappointed in any way now that they have ignored your wishes?
A: We could not restore the judges according to our commitment and it was a very clear commitment, a clear pledge to the people of Pakistan. We signed before the entire nation. We put our signatures and that should have been implemented.
Q: Why do you think the PPP is adamant on this issue. Many say Mr Zardari is worried. The old judiciary could overturn the amnesty he has received from President Musharraf.
A: Well I can't really comment on that. He made a very firm and categorical commitment. Politicians in this country must honour their commitment. This was a commitment to take democracy forward.
Q: You have spent several weeks now trying to negotiate with Mr Zardari on this issue, have your relations undergone a strain since then?
A: We have very cordial relations. Personal relations are very good and should remain good. I don't see any dent coming in personal relations.
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