Buoyed by the strong performance of his party in Pakistan's parliamentary polls, former premier and Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said deposed members of the superior judiciary should be reinstated so that they can decide on the validity of Pervez Musharraf's re-election as President.
Sharif, whose party surprised the political establishment by bagging 65 of the 269 National Assembly seats for which direct elections were held on Monday, also said the military should 'abandon its role in politics'.
He said, "I expect the army to act according to the law."
The two-time premier, who was deposed by Musharraf in a bloodless coup in 1999, said the PML-N did not accept the emergency imposed by the President last year or the sacking of judges, who had not endorsed the measure.
"The steps taken by Musharraf during the emergency will have to be rolled back," he asserted.
Asked if the PML-N will work with other opposition parties to impeach Musharraf, Sharif said: "Well I think once the judiciary is restored, that judiciary will then have to give judgment on the eligibility of Musharraf's candidature" -- whether he was eligible to contest the October six presidential election, which he had swept.
Musharraf sacked nearly 60 members of the superior judiciary during the emergency, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry and other judges who were hearing challenges to his re-election.
Sharif has repeatedly said the PML-N will reinstate the deposed judges. All candidates of the party were administered a pledge before the polls that committed them to working for the reinstatement of the judges.
The PML-N chief said he would meet Pakistan People's Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad on Thursday to discuss issues like the formation of government and the reinstatement of the judges.
"I have already discussed this matter with Asif Zardari and I told him that Pakistan judiciary's independence is very strongly linked with its restoration. It is dependent on the restoration of the judiciary. Unless the judges are restored, the judiciary cannot attain any independence," he said.
Zardari, however, has committed himself only to the independence of the judiciary and this remains a major point of difference between the PML-N and the PPP, which has merged as the single largest party.
Sharif also said he would get in touch with Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan and leaders of other opposition parties to discuss government formation.
The party will work with all democratic forces to restore democracy and rule of law, supremacy of the Constitution, sovereignty of the parliament and independence of judiciary.
"I invite everyone to sit together and rid Pakistan of dictatorship for all time," Sharif said.
"We will cooperate with (all democratic forces) and try to seek their cooperation... To accomplish this democratic agenda, all of us must unite on one common platform."
The PML-N chief said his party overcame various handicaps during the election process.
"We were fighting the polls as if we were besieged by enemy forces but we were able to break out. We fought all efforts to rig the polls."
Noting that Musharraf had himself conceded that his actions during emergency were unconstitutional and illegal, Sharif said the President should now accept the people's verdict.
"The people have given their verdict. Musharraf does not understand their wishes or may be his eyes are closed. He has said that he will leave when the people want him to leave. The people have said today what they want," he said with a smile.
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