Sharif asks Pakistanis to agitate for reinstatement of judges

ISLAMABAD: Days after pulling out of the ruling coalition over the issue of deposed judges, former Pakistan premier and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has asked the countrymen to take to the streets for reinstatement of the justices sacked by President Pervez Musharraf.
    
"Now every child must rise and take to the streets of Pakistan and get all the deposed judges, who refused to take oath (during last year's emergency), restored with honour and dignity," Sharif said.
    
He also came down heavily on the judges who endorsed the emergency and four-star generals, saying that even the judiciary was ashamed of the justices who validated the "immoral, illegal and unconstitutional action" of Musharraf.
    
Sharif told Geo News he did not recognise the judges sworn-in during the emergency because those who were deposed were the real judges.
    
When asked why he had announced he would accept the judges who took an oath of allegiance to Musharraf, Sharif said that he had swallowed the bitter pill half-heartedly and asserted he would stick to his current stance of not accepting such judges at any cost.
    
On his support to the proposed movement by the legal fraternity in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province where the PML-N is in power, Sharif said he wanted the entire Punjab government to be part of this campaign. He said he would also try and convince PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to join him.
    
To a question on whether his demand for restoration of the deposed judges will resolve ongoing shortages of flour and electricity, Sharif said, "Yes."
    
The PML-N chief said that if the judiciary became independent, it would ensure rule of law and accountability of the government.
    
Asked about the opinion of Musharraf's supporters that Sharif's position on the judges' issue could lead to greater instability, he charged that the President had plunged the country into the worst form of instability.
    
Sharif also said he had no plans to weaken the PPP government. "I will thwart all conspiracies against Asif Ali Zardari and the PPP government in the country," he said.
    
Asked whether he was not afraid of any reprisal from those at the helm of affairs, he said, "Why should I be afraid? If 60 judges were fired with a stroke of the pen in any western country and the whole nation took to the streets, would their army impose martial law?"