Zardari capitulates, agrees to reinstate Chaudhry as CJ

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, Mar 16 (PTI) Capitulating under pressure,
an increasingly isolated Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari
Monday 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 Pakistan People's Party.

As the three-week-old political crisis was defused,
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani telephoned Sharif who
expressed his party, PML-N's readiness to evolve a joint
strategy with the Pakistan People's Party for political
reconciliation.

An emboldened Sharif, who has emerged as the new hero,
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.

Chaudhry, sacked in 2007 during emergency by then
President Pervez Musharraf, will assume office on March 21
when the 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.

The dramatic announcement early Monday morning capped
a night of high drama and hectic consultations among Zardari,
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Army Chief Ashfaq Kayani
and other leaders.

Kayani, who has generally maintained a low profile
in the three-week old political turmoil, is believed to have
been instrumental in convincing Zardari to relent.

During their telephonic conversation, Gilani told
Sharif that reconciliation among the democratic forces of the
country would bring a positive change in the whole system and
help it confront challenges before it, an official statement
said.

Responding to this, Sharif expressed confidence that
the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the PPP would
jointly evolve a strategy in this regard.

The statement said the Sharif brothers congratulated
Gilani on his historic decision for saving the system by
restoring judges and releasing political prisoners and invited
him for a meeting with them in Lahore.

The Prime Minister also assured Sharif that the PPP
was committed to fulfilling its promises made in the Charter
of Democracy, which was signed by slaim PPP chairperson
Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif in 2006.

Zardari, who was holding out notwithstanding intense
pressure from the US, yielded hours before Sharif, demanding
reinstatement of Chaudhry and other sacked judges, was to lead
a long march to Parliament.

In a televised address to the nation at dawn, Gilani
also announced that Government will file an appeal in the
Supreme Court against the February 25 order barring Sharif and
his brother Shahbaz Sharif from contesting elections and
holding public offices, a move that may lead to Shahbaz
getting back as Punjab Chief Minister.

While Chaudhry's 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.

The US, which has been leaning on Zardari to patch up
with Sharif, welcomed Chaudhry's reinstatement.

"This is a statesmanlike decision taken to defuse a
serious confrontation, and the apparent removal of this
long-standing national issue is a substantial step toward
national reconciliation," the US embassy here said in a brief
statement.

Monday's development has put a question mark on the
future of Zardari who, analysts say, has been politically
outmanoeuvred and emerged as a weakened President. PTI RHL
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