Hong Kong
13 May 2008
The former president of Pakistan's Supreme Court Bar Association says lawyers will continue to protest until the country's judiciary is restored. Claudia Blume reports from Hong Kong.
On Monday, Nawaz Sharif said his Pakistan Muslim League - N party would pull out of the government after talks about the issue collapsed. The PML-N wants the unconditional reinstatement of the judges. Its coalition partner, the Pakistan People's Party wants to link reinstatement to constitutional reforms. This includes retaining the judges Mr. Musharraf installed in November.
Malik says most lawyers oppose to the PPP's proposal.
"Our position is that if you talk about a constitutional amendment, then you are really admitting that what happened on November third was lawful and that you need another law to set it aside," Malik said.
Malik says there is one condition under which he would accept the retention of the judges Mr. Musharraf appointed. He says they will first need to be scrutinized by parliament and the chief justice to be tested on their competence and integrity.