Re: 30-day coutdown to “restoration of judges” has not begun - Sherry Rehman
There is always more to it than meets the eye. If Zardari has his way i.e. in fxing a three year term limit for a CJ, then Ifti will back in in office only for a few weeks, and then will be retired.
Zardari, Nawaz and Asfandyar meet: No breakthrough on judges issue
**The ruling coalition on Tuesday could not finalise a formula to restore the **sacked judges, and decided to hold a series of meetings on the issue. According to sources privy to the proceedings, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif sought time to consult his party on a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) proposal to fix the tenure of chief justices in an arrangement similar to that for services chiefs. The meeting, attended by Nawaz, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, and Awami National Party (ANP) President Asfandyar Wali, lasted for over two hours. The three coalition leaders also held a separate 30-minute meeting without the presence of aides. The coalition “renewed its commitment to the Bhurban declaration,” Information Minister Sherry Rehman said in a statement issued after the meeting. “The meeting was one of a series that the coalition intends to have regularly,” she added.
Resolution: “A resolution [to restore the judges] will be moved in parliament before April 30,” a PML-N source said after the meeting. However, a PPP source claimed that the resolution could be delayed until the next session of the National Assembly. “There are minor differences over the issue of fixing the tenure of the supreme and high court chief justices,” he said, adding that the PPP wanted the chief judges’ tenure to be fixed for three to four years. “Nawaz Sharif did not give a positive response to PPP’s proposal and wanted to consult his party before agreeing to any formula,” the sources said, adding that Wali had agreed that the proposal could be put into practice. They said that the coalition members had agreed that none of the restored judges who had taken oath under the Provisional Constitution Order 2002 and 2007 would be considered for any other constitutional appointment after retirement. “This has been proposed to give a message to the members of judiciary not to take oath under any unconstitutional situation in future,” the sources said, adding that Zardari had requested Nawaz and Wali to “cool down” Aitzaz Ahsan on this issue. A source quoted Zardari as saying that “He [Aitzaz] is going too fast”.
Besides the restoration of the sacked judges, the meeting also discussed the war on terror, violence in Karachi and Lahore, and protests in Multan. According to the statement, “The meeting took stock of the ongoing war on terror and resolved that the government will follow the path of negotiations with those who lay down arms.”
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\04\16\story_16-4-2008_pg1_1