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Top leaders skip issue of Musharraf's future

ISLAMABAD: Top leaders of the ruling coalition in Pakistan on Tuesday again failed to arrive at a decision on the reinstatement of judges sacked by former President Pervez Musharraf and skipped the issue of future of the ex-military ruler. The meeting of leaders of PPP and PML-N including co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Quaid Nawaz Sharif and other smaller allies, the second in two days, focused on the judges issue, with almost no attention devoted to the future of Musharraf who resigned on Monday to avoid impeachment in Parliament, sources said. The meeting was widely speculated to discuss the issue of granting Musharraf safe passage but sources said the coalition leaders did not discuss the matter. Interestingly, before entering the meeting, Sharif struck a soft tone when he was asked if he still wanted the former President to face trial for his actions. Sharif said he had no personal differences with Musharraf, who had deposed him as Prime Minister, arrested him and exiled him, but added this did not mean Musharraf should meet the same fate. Reports have suggested that the PML-N is no longer insisting on the trial of Musharraf following his resignation, largely due to intervention by Saudi Arabian interlocutors. Sources said the two main parties in the coalition had not been able to bridge their differences on modalities for reinstating the judges who were deposed by Musharraf during last year's emergency. Emerging from the talks held at PPP co-chairman Zardari's residence, ANP president Afsandyar Wali Khan and Jamiat chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman told reporters that smaller parties in the alliance had sought 72 hours to evolve a consensus among the issue of restoration of the judges. Khan and Rehman said their parties had not taken part in earlier talks on reinstating the judges and needed some time to assess the proposals drafted by the PPP and PML-N. Rehman said there was "no deadlock" on the issue of restoring the judges.
Courtesy Geo

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