Pervez offers power-sharing deal

By OUR PAKISTAN CORRESPONDENT

Islamabad, March 14: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has offered to give up his powers to dissolve Parliament if key political parties agree to drop their insistence on the reinstatement of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, media reports said.

The offer marks the most significant concession by President Musharraf, a former Army Chief, since his supporters were defeated in the general election.

"The power to dissolve Parliament is the most potent weapon in President Musharraf’s arsenal. His offer to forgo that weapon means that he is getting desperate," British daily Financial Times quoted a senior government official familiar with the negotiations as saying.

Details of his offer were revealed to Financial Times by key members of the Pakistan People’s Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz).

Both the parties, which together form a majority in the 342-seat National Assembly, agreed to restore to their posts all the judges, including the former Chief Justice dismissed by the President within hours of the emergency rule in November.

The presidential contest of President Musharraf was in violation of a law that requires all civil servants, including the Army Chief, to wait two years before running for the political office, the paper quoted constitutional experts as saying. "The danger for the President is that the return of Iftikhar Chaudhry as the Chief Justice will immediately see him return to the cases against President Musharraf. It is possible that the presidential election may be declared null and void," said a senior but newly-elected legislator.