Sacked judges to be reinstated as Prez loses ground to rival Sharif

The decision to reinstate superior court judges, following a massive show of people power, has literally eroded the authority of President Asif Zardari and established Nazwaz Sharif as the only popular political leader with the support of the masses.

Supreme court chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry and many judges had been sacked by General Pervez Musharraf in 2007.

Just when it seemed that all efforts by international power players had failed to defuse the political crisis, the Zardari government capitulated to demands of protesters early on Monday, to avoid the wrath of the masses.

With thousands of people on the streets, heading for the capital Islamabad, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani announced on state television at 5.45am that Chaudhry and other justices would be reinstated.

Gilani’s surprise announcement, which was taken as a defeat of the presidency, followed intense negotiations over the past few days in which opposition parties and the lawyers’ community led by Sharif had refused to compromise with the government.

The eleventh hour retreat by the president led the protesting opposition parties’ activists and lawyers to drop plans to march to the federal capital and stage a sit-in outside the presidency.

Political analysts said the reinstatement changed the political dynamics in Pakistan, given the fact that the leadership of the Zardari-led liberal and progressive Pakistan Peoples Party, which was voted to power in 2008, has been discredited to a great extent and the right-wing Pakistan Muslim League led by Sharif has established itself as a force to reckon with.

Kayani gains respect of masses

Analysts feel that although an immediate political crisis in Pakistan has been defused with president Asif Ali Zardari agreeing to reinstate sacked judges of superior courts, the pot is still boiling and the PPP government remains under threat.

As the political turmoil in Pakistan is over, the army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, has rewritten history and earned the respect of the masses as a national figure who, unlike his four khaki predecessors, maintained his commitment to keep the army out of politics and leaned on warring politicians to back down from a confrontation threatening the country’s stability.

Amid a growing political crisis, Kayani had been under pressure from the establishment in Rawalpindi to pack up the civilian set-up that failed to deliver and take over the reins of power, like Musharraf.

As the crisis deepened in Pakistan in the last two days and literally started threatening the survival of the democratic set-up, Kayani stepped in to mediate between Zardari and Sharif, besides encouraging Gilani to play his role to resolve the crisis.

The army chief’s role in the crisis guarantees the continuation of democracy. According to IA Rehman, director, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, his role enhanced the image of the armed forces among people who have been ruled by them for half of the country’s existence. “The person who has actually prevented a coup and helped shore up the country’s fragile democracy is none other than the army chief. From a constitutional point of view, that did not sit right. But was there an alternative?” he quipped.

PM met Brajesh twice on Pak

Prime minister Manmohan Singh, recuperating after cardiac surgery, met former national security advisor in the National Democratic Alliance government Brajesh Mishra, at least twice last week to discuss the situation in Pakistan.

Prime minister’s office officials confirmed that Mishra made trips to 7 Race Course Road to discuss the situation. “The meetings were called as the PM was concerned about events in Pakistan, and Mishra’s expertise in the matter is considerable. The PM felt his expertise could contribute to his understanding of the situation,” an official said.

Even though the external affairs ministry has consistently maintained that the domestic affairs of Pakistan were none of its business, the record of its relations with Pakistan has raised concerns in India. “Pakistan’s domestic troubles often lead to trouble on our borders, so it is in that context that the meetings were held,” an official added.