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Pak slide stops for the moment, but
uncertainty remains
WSN Network
 Islamabad:
Pakistan's slide into anarchy seemed to have been arrested at least
for the time being with President Asif Ali Zardari calling for
reconciliation and trying to mend fences with the opposition even as
Iftikhar Chaudhry took over as Supreme Court chief justice but signs
of all-is-not-well were all around. A suicide bomber killed a
policeman outside a police station in
Islamabad
and tensions lingered with Nawaz Sharif's party over control of
Punjab.
Sharif seemed to have the upper hand with the restoration of
Chaudhry and other judges and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani
seemed emerging as a leader in his own right. Sharifs' party is
widely expected again to lead a coalition government in Punjab once
Zardari-Gilani get their act together to undo the effect of the apex
court judgement that unseated Sharif's brother Shahbaz from Punjab.
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Pak Govt asks court to review ban on Sharifs
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government has filed two petitions in
the Supreme Court seeking review of its recent verdict barring
opposition PML-N leaders Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif from
contesting polls and holding public offices, a ruling that had
triggered a major political crisis.
The petitions asked the apex court to set aside its order of
February 25 disqualifying the Sharif brothers from contesting
elections and holding public offices.
The petitions also said the verdict had far-reaching
implications for electoral laws and fundamental rights. The
government said it would present further arguments after the
Supreme Court issues a detailed judgement. The court has so far
issued only a brief order in the case. |
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On his part,
Zardari made the right noises, spoke about "national reconciliation"
and "respect for dissent" and castigated the dictators. "For a long
time and at intervals the rule of law and constitutionalism has been
trampled by dictators, sometimes under the doctrine of necessity and
sometimes under the theory of successful revolution. This cycle must
come to an end. It will," he said in a message on the occasion of
Pakistan Day.
Sharif said his
PML-N was ready to work jointly with the PPP-led government and
significantly made the right noises regarding
India: "Let us
talk jointly with India, let us talk jointly on the Kashmir issue.
Let us work together to improve relations between India and
Pakistan."
Sharif has been
demanding that the ruling PPP take steps to scrap the President's
sweeping powers and to restore the Constitution to its status before
a military takeover in 1999.
But the main
issue now remains the Charter of Democracy which dilutes the powers
of President significantly and takes away the power to appoint
judges, and chiefs of armed forces.
25 March 2009
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