Govt OK with Sharif but no Musharraf men: PPP

“We will cooperate with (all democratic forces) and try to seek their cooperation…To accomplish this democratic agenda, all of us must unite on one common platform.” Sharif said he will meet Zardari on Thursday, while insisting that the deposed members of the superior judiciary should be reinstated so that they can decide on the legality of Pervez Musharraf’s re-election as President in October last year.

“I have already discussed this matter with Mr Asif Zardari and I told him that Pakistan judiciary’s independence is very strongly linked with its restoration. It is dependent on the restoration of the judiciary. Unless the judges are restored, the judiciary cannot attain any independence,” he said.

The two-time premier, who was deposed by Musharraf in a bloodless coup in 1999, said the PML-N did not accept the emergency imposed by the President last year or the sacking of the judges who had not endorsed the measure.

“The steps taken by Musharraf during the emergency will have to be rolled back,” he asserted.

Musharraf sacked nearly 60 members of the superior judiciary during the emergency, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry and other judges who were hearing challenges to his re-election.

Musharraf, whose grip on power may loosen, rejected calls for him to quit after the defeat of his allies. PML-Q supporting Musharraf got 37 seats while other allies like MQM bagged 19.

Indications of post-poll alliance emerged with 58-year-old Sharif, whose party did exceedingly well in the face of an expected sympathy wave for Bhutto’s party, saying he would be meeting Zardari on Thursday. Zardari also reciprocated saying he would hold discussions with Sharif and other parties.

Sharif, who was barred from contesting the elections, said he would discuss issues like formation of government and reinstatement of the sacked judges of the Supreme Court.

“I have already discussed this matter with Zardari and I told him that Pakistan’s judiciary’s independence is very strongly linked with its restoration. It is dependent on the restoration of the judiciary. Unless the judges are restored, the judiciary cannot attain any independence,” he said.

Sharif also said he would get in touch with Awami National Party (ANP) chief Afsandyar Wali Khan whose party got 10 seats and leaders of other opposition parties to discuss government formation.

“I invite everyone to sit together and rid Pakistan of dictatorship for all time,” Sharif said.

“We will cooperate with (all democratic forces) and try to seek their cooperation…To accomplish this democratic agenda, all of us must unite on one common platform. “Asked whether Musharraf will be impeached, Sharif said the situation may not arise if the sacked judges are reinstated and they decide on the legality of Musharraf’s re-election as President.

Musharraf, who last year stepped down as Army Chief, at best, faces the prospect of remaining in power with sharply diminished powers.

Bhutto’s party wants coalition minus Musharraf allies

The party of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will try to form a coalition Government without the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League (PML), Bhutto’s widower Asif Ali Zardari said.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) won the most seats in the National Assembly in a national election on Monday, while President Pervez Musharraf’s friends in the PML trailed a distant third.

“For now, the decision of the party is that we are not interested in any of those people who are part and parcel of the last Government,” Zardari told a news conference in Islamabad, adding the PPP would try to persuade the party of Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister whom Musharraf overthrew in 1999, to join the PPP in power.