A notification will be required to be issued by President Pervez Musharraf to restore the deposed judges even after an executive order of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, reinstating them. The president will not notify the return of the sacked justices despite the executive order issued after the approval of a resolution by the National Assembly, if he was not taken on board, an official told this correspondent. He said under the Constitution all appointments in the superior courts were made by the president on the advice of the prime minister. However, one set of constitutional experts is of the firm view that the president is bound to act just as a post office in judicial appointments, meaning that he has to accept the advice of the prime minister. The president has no independent powers whatsoever not to go by the premier's recommendations, they say. But the other set of legal brains says the president can delay, block or even reject the prime minister's advice on judicial appointments. Both sides refer to Article 177 of the Constitution that says the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President of Pakistan and each of the other judges shall be appointed by the president after consultation with the chief justice. Such “consultation” has to be routed through the government (prime minister), which can change it the way it likes or may even reject it altogether. However, their interpretation of this provision differs. One view is that the order issued by the prime minister bringing back the sacked justices would suffice for their restoration and there would be no need to involve the president for issuing notifications to the effect. Pakistan's recent history is witness to the fact that the successive presidents had been differing with the prime ministers and thus blocking appointment of judges in superior judiciary. The presidents were armed with powers that Musharraf also possesses. During the eighties, president General Ziaul Haq had not agreed with the advice of prime Minister Mohammad Khan Junejo on appointment of certain judges and rejected his recommendation. However, ignoring the rejection, the premier had again sent his advice to the president but only after the issue was sorted out by the close aides of the two sides. Similarly, during nineties, president Ghulam Ishaq Khan too had not accepted the advice of prime minister Benazir Bhutto in the judicial appointments. The controversy was settled through consultations between the two sides. Referring to the present scheme of things in the Constitution, experts say barring his few discretionary powers the president is bound to act on the advice of the premier in all matters and enjoys no authority of any nature. They say even according to the amended Constitution that is in force the prime minister is the chief executive of Pakistan, who has all the powers to run the government while the president has no say. __
