Reinstatement of sacked judges a
victory for
Sharif: Analysts
16 Mar 2009, 1419 hrs IST, AFP
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ISLAMABAD: The restoration of top judges two years after their dismissal will give
Pakistan desperately needed rule of law and marks up a victory
for
opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, analysts said.
Hours before the planned ‘long march’ by lawyers and opposition parties was due to take place in Islamabad, the Pakistan government on Monday caved under public pressure and agreed to reinstate the judges and end a repressive crackdown on activists.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, in a dawn address to the nation, announced that all judges including deposed chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry sacked by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2007 would resume office from March 21.
The decision came after a series of meetings he and army chief General Ashfaq Kayani held with President Asif Ali
Zardari to avert bloodshed and instability in the frontline US ally in the "war on terror".
Main opposition leader, Sharif, a former prime minister who galvanised opponents of Zardari and led thousands of protestors in a march out of Lahore, hailed the announcement and soon after called off the mass protest.
The government's climbdown is widely seen as a product of Western pressure on Zardari to defuse the standoff with Sharif, and Gilani's orders to release hundreds of people in detention as a victory for rights.
"I think it's a huge victory for civil society, lawyers and Nawaz Sharif," defence and political analyst Talat Masood said. "It came too late but it came before (the protestors reached) Islamabad" and averted expected clashes.
"Sharif took a firm stand, his stature has gone up," he said.
"For the first time in Pakistan's history, an independent judiciary will be there to strengthen the rule of law." "It will also help counter radicalism and extremism."
US officials were seen as instrumental in trying to encourage Zardari and Sharif to end their standoff. Masood said Americans played a "very positive" role. "They have understood that Sharif's party is an important political force in Pakistan and there is no need to have any confrontation. Their role was very constructive."
Jaffer Ahmed, director of the Pakistan Study Centre at Karachi University, described the agreement as a major step forward for the country, but slammed Zardari for miscalculating at every stage.