Zardari agrees to reinstate Chaudhry

Driven to the wall, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari today capitulated by agreeing to reinstate Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and meeting other demands of Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, who then called off his “long march”.

Chaudhry, sacked in 2007 during the emergency by then President Pervez Musharraf, will assume office on March 21, when current Pakistan Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar retires.

A notification reinstating Chaudhry and nine other sacked judges was issued by the government later in the day.

The dramatic announcement by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani early morning came after consultations with Zardari, Army Chief Ashfaq Kayani and other leaders that went through the night, putting a lid on the ongoing political turmoil that raised fears of instability and extremist violence in the country.

Zardari, who was holding out notwithstanding intense pressure from the US, as also Kayani, yielded hours before Sharif, demanding reinstatement of Chaudhry and other sacked judges, was to lead a long march to Parliament.

Gilani announced that the government will file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the February 25 order barring Sharif and his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, from contesting elections and holding public offices, a move that may lead to Shahbaz getting back as Punjab Chief Minister.

Sharat Sabharwal is new High Commissioner to Pak

Senior IFS officer Sharat Sabharwal was today named as India’s new High Commissioner to Pakistan, an appointment which comes at a time when bilateral relations between the two neighbours are at a new low.

A 1975 batch IFS officer, Sabharwal had an earlier experience in Pakistan when he was the Deputy High Commissioner in that country from July 1995 to June 1999.