Pakistani opposition parties haggled yesterday over whether to demand reinstatement of judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf as a condition for their participation in elections next month.
Two former prime ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, have said they would present Musharraf with a "charter of demands" to ensure a fair general election on Jan. 8, failing which they would "move towards" a boycott.
A boycott by the two main opposition parties and smaller allies would rob the vote of credibility and prolong instability in a nuclear-armed country that is crucial to US efforts to fight al-Qaeda and bring peace to neighboring Afghanistan.
"Most of the issues have been decided with consensus. The remaining issues will be decided today. Today is the final sitting, we're going to finalize our list," said Ahsan Iqbal, a spokesman for Sharif's party, involved in drafting the demands.
Iqbal declined to give details, but other opposition officials said the two parties still differed over whether to demand the restoration of 37 judges dismissed by Musharraf after he imposed emergency rule on Nov. 3.
Bhutto says the new parliament should decide on the fate of the judges. Sharif, who has been visiting parts of the north of the country this week to meet supporters, has called for an election boycott unless the judges are reinstated.
"There is no question of compromise on this issue. We are saying it should be before the election. The PPP says it should be after the election," said Javed Hashmi, a senior official in Sharif's party, referring to Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party.
"This is the only thing where we have to this time not been able to agree," Hashmi said.
Bhutto has said her party would reluctantly take part in the vote, while reserving the right to withdraw or to protest against an unfair result. She has already issued a manifesto and effectively began her campaign last weekend.
Despite his doubts about the election, Sharif registered to run but his nomination was rejected on Monday because of criminal convictions that Sharif says were politically motivated.
Musharraf has ruled out reinstating the judges, some of whom remain under house arrest, including former Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. Musharraf has been at odds with the judiciary since he tried to sack Chaudhry in March.
Sharif tried to meet Chaudhry at his Islamabad home yesterday but was blocked by police. He was turned back by around 300 policemen manning concrete and barbed wire barricades near Chaudhry's residence.
Hundreds of Sharif's supporters chanted "Long live Nawaz Sharif" after their leader was turned back and burned a large poster of Musharraf.
"I have come here to express solidarity with the chief justice and other judges," Sharif told the crowd after police refused to let him through.
"I want to tell them that the entire nation stands by them. We will not rest until all these judges are restored to their pre-November 3 positions," he said.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
Two daughters of an Argentine mountaineer who died on an icy peak 40 years ago have retrieved his backpack from the spot — finding camera film inside that allowed them a glimpse of some of his final experiences. Guillermo Vieiro was 44 when he died in 1985 — as did his climbing partner — while descending Argentina’s Tupungato lava dome, one of the highest peaks in the Americas. Last year, his backpack was spotted on a slope by mountaineer Gabriela Cavallaro, who examined it and contacted Vieiro’s daughters Guadalupe, 40, and Azul, 44. Last month, the three set out with four other guides
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Sri Lanka’s fragile economic recovery could be hampered by threatened trade union strikes over reduced benefits for government employees in this year’s budget, the IMF said yesterday. Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s maiden budget raised public sector salaries, but also made deep cuts to longstanding perks in a continuing effort to repair the island nation’s tattered finances. Sri Lanka’s main doctors’ union is considering a strike from today to protest against cuts to their allowances, while teachers are also considering stoppages. IMF senior mission chief for Sri Lanka Peter Breuer said the budget was the “last big push” for the country’s austerity
RSS