Sharif calls to reinstate deposed judges

LAHORE: Former premier Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday called on the Pakistan People's Party-led government to reinstate all judges deposed during last year's emergency and to restore the constitution of 1973.
    
Sharif said his PML-N party, which is now in the opposition after pulling out of the ruling coalition last month, would "support every action of the PPP that is taken to strengthen democracy".
    
"The government should complete its term and we want the government to provide good governance. The government should function according to the law and constitution of 1973," Sharif told reporters at the airport here before leaving for London, where his wife is convalescing after surgery.
    
"For that, it is necessary to restore the constitution of 1973 and the 17th(constitutional) amendment must be scrapped," he said, referring to changes introduced in the constitution by former President Pervez Musharraf that gave him the power to dissolve parliament and dismiss the Prime Minister.
    
"The powers of the parliament and Prime Minister must be restored. There is no doubt about this and the government must do this. The government should complete its term and all of us must play our roles for this," he said.
    
During a meeting yesterday with President-elect Asif Ali Zardari, Sharif turned down a request to return to the coalition and said the PML-N would cooperate with the government to strengthen democracy in the country.

"I had gone to congratulate Mr Zardari, he is Pakistan's elected President. He was elected legally and constitutionally. He is a democratic President and has not taken over like a dictator. We accept his mandate and think his election was legal," said Sharif, whose party's candidate was defeated by Zardari in last week's presidential poll.
    
"We wanted the transition of power in Pakistan to be done in a nice wayThis is a good development for Pakistan."
    
Sharif pointed out that the Charter of Democracy, an agreement he had signed with slain PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto in 2006, could provide the framework for ushering in complete democracy in the country.
    
"If the Charter of Democracy is implemented, then I believe this country cannot go wrong and this government cannot go wrong," he said.
    
Sharif also expressed his opposition to the methods adopted by the PPP-led government to selectively reinstate some of the dozens of judges who were deposed by Musharraf last year. Since the PML-N pulled out of the ruling coalition, the government has restored several deposed judges who agreed to take a fresh oath.
    
"The judges' issue is not finished. The restoration of the judges will be accepted only if they are reinstated to their positions (at the time of imposition of emergency last year). These are fresh appointments and we do not accept them," he said.
 
Replying to a question on whether the PPP should withdraw its ministers from the PML-N-led coalition government in Punjab province, Sharif said all decisions in this regard "will have to be made by the PPP".
    
Some PML-N leaders have called on the PPP to withdraw its ministers from the provincial government after their party walked out of the federal coalition.
    
Sharif also blamed the army and frequent spells of martial law for Pakistan's problems. "For 34 years of Pakistan's history of about 61 years, the army generals have ruled Pakistan and you can see the effects of that rule hunger, unemployment, poverty, inflation, energy crisis, a shortage of 'atta'(wheat). What did the generals do for Pakistan?"
    
He added: "India is highly regarded along with China today, and India has never had martial law imposed by the army. If martial law is the secret of progress and prosperity, India should also have had martial law. Martial law alone has destroyed Pakistan."