Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday after crucial talks with coalition partner Asif Ali Zardari that a reinstatement of judges that had threatened their alliance will take place as previously agreed. “It has been decided and reiterated that the restoration of the judges will take place as per the Murree Declaration,” Sharif said after two days of talks with Zardari, in Dubai. He was referring to their agreement in March to reinstate the judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf. “The meeting has made progress in a very positive way. We are now satisfied,” Sharif told journalists. “The committee has made substantive progress on this issue,” Sharif said. “The restoration will take place through a (parliamentary) resolution. The details will be revealed tomorrow ... You won't have to wait too long.” Sharif and Zardari, whose PPP heads the four-party coalition, had pledged their government would pass a resolution in the National Assembly to bring the judges back within a month of being sworn in. Zardari, leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), left the negotiations before Sharif, telling reporters only that the talks were meant to improve their relationship. Zardari, however, is trying to avoid an early confrontation with Musharraf, who retired from the army in November. The PPP wants to link reinstatement of the judiciary to a constitutional reform package, that will include measures to shorten the tenure of senior judges. Musharraf sacked the judges when he imposed emergency rule last November. The restored judges could revive challenges to the legitimacy of Musharraf's reelection last October by an outgoing parliament while still army chief. “We will not sit with peace until the judges are restored. We are trying our level best that we stay together in the coalition and together return all the judges back to their offices with honor and dignity,” Sharif said, referring to the March agreement between his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the PPP. The leaders of PML-N are due to meet in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Friday. Sharif said earlier Thursday that he would not budge an inch from his demand for the reinstatement of judges removed by Musharraf. “We cannot accept the Nov. 3 action under any circumstances,” Sharif told private Pakistani Geo television. Information Minister Sherry Rehman, a senior PPP leader, also expressed confidence in the outcome of the talks in Dubai. “We are very satisfied with the results of the talks ... (There is) nothing to worry about, really,” Rehman said. – With agencies __
