Chaudhry could be restored, but not as CJ: PPP

Unfazed by the demands from the estranged ally PML-N and the influential lawyers movement, Pakistan's ruling PPP has decided against re-instating deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry to his previous post and said he will have to work under the incumbent if re-appointed.

Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani Gilani had recently announced in Parliament that all judges sacked by ex-President Pervez Musharraf would be restored but PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar has made it clear Chaudhry could be reinstated but would not get his earlier post as the apex court already has a Chief Justice.

"Gilani had only talked about restoration of Iftikhar Chaudhry, which does not mean restoring him as the Chief Justice. If Iftikhar is going to be restored, he will have to take a fresh oath as per Naek's declaration that all other senior Supreme Court judges will have to work under Chief Justice Dogar," spokesman Babar told The News daily.

Gilani was reportedly at the forefront of efforts to reinstate Chaudhry but recent statements by senior PPP leaders, including Law Minister Farooq Naek, have made it

clear that the former Chief Justice is unlikely to get his post back.

"Supreme Court Chief Justice (Abdul Hamid) Dogar is a rightful Chief Justice and we have to think twice before reinstating the deposed chief justice as it will create a constitutional crisis in the country," Naek said on Wednesday.

PPP chief Asif Ali Zardari too had said that some sections of the party were opposed to Chaudhry's reinstatement as he had become "too politicised".