Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has said that his party and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had come to an agreement on most issues, including the restoration of the 1973 Constitution and “doing away with the amendments the dictators brought into the Constitution”. In an interview published in the Hindustan Times on Wednesday, Nawaz described the removal of the judges as an “ugly development,” and said his party, civil society and many other parties had committed to the people that if “we come to power, we will restore the judiciary to the November 2, 2007, position. Democracy isn’t possible without the judiciary’s independence.” He said he had made it clear to PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari that this was his party’s top priority. There was no disagreement with the PPP on the matter, only the modalities had to be worked out and this would happen when parliament was in session, he added.
Unconstitutional: Nawaz contended that the presidential election was unconstitutional and illegal in the eyes of the people. Hence, he said his party members would “never like to take oath as cabinet ministers under him. He’s the one who will administer oath if he does not step down before that”. He added that the inclusion of the pro-Musharraf Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in the government was also an [unresolved] issue.
Unthinkable: Asked about PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s statement on the need for a working relationship with Musharraf, Nawaz said: “ I don’t know on what grounds a working relationship can be established with the president? What will be the target? What will we achieve out of it? It will be a great disappointment for the people of Pakistan ... If we have to go back to democracy, we cannot think of working with a man responsible for getting this (sic) country in such a great mess.”