Good news

Nawaz Sharif's determined move to hold "make or break" talks with Zardari has paid off. The joint statement issued at the end of the discussions spread over three days in Islamabad spells out the agreement amongst the coalition partners consisting of PPP, PML (N), ANP and JUI to impeach the president first and then restore the judges in accordance with the Murree declaration.

It was not easy for Zardari to agree to the reinstatement of the judges nor was it expected that he would fall in line with PML (N)'s stand that Musharraf must go if democracy is to succeed. Zardari owes the withdrawal of cases pending against him to Musharraf's NRO. He, like Musharraf also was not in favour of restoration of judges especially justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry who could undo NRO.

What drove Zardari to stop dragging his feet on PML (N)'s two demands about the ouster of Musharraf and the return of judges was (a) the prospect of losing the support of PML (N) and aversion to forge a partnership with the "Qatil", League and (b) the increasing differences arising between the PPP government and the presidency on a number of matters including appointments in strategic institutions and offices. The ISI episode too may have influenced Zardari's mind to replace Musharraf with someone of his own choice.

The attempt to restore 8 Sindh high court judges was a typically Zardarian stratagem to subvert the struggle for the reinstatement of judges and weaken the lawyers' movement. Nawaz Sharif's sharp reaction to this unexpected and unacceptable initiative and his refusal to continue with the talks forced Zardari's hands and stopped the issuing of the requisite notification. Naek played the role of a cat's paw.

Why are the lawyers unhappy with the joint decision announced by Zardari and Nawaz at a press conference? Hamid Khan a former president of the supreme court bar association speaking at a TV channel has expressed the view that by relegating the issue of judges to a secondary place, the matter has been put on the back burner. The process of president's impeachment is bound to take many weeks and no date has been fixed regarding the restoration of the judges.