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Islamabad: The political parties that boycotted the February general elections on Thursday asked the ruling coalition led by the Pakistan Peoples Party to restore the deposed judges immediately and initiate a move in the parliament to impeach President Pervez Musharraf.
Ending a two-day national conference, the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) threatened to launch a civil disobedience campaign if the demands were not met, but gave no deadline.
The demands were made at a news conference by APDM leaders including Mahmood Khan Achakzai, of the Pakhtoonkhawa Mili Awami Party, Qazi Hussain Ahmad of the Jamaat-e-Islami, and Imran Khan of the Tehreek-e-Insaaf.
Achakzai, who is the convener of the APDM, said the coalition government had deviated from its commitment to restore the judges who were sacked by Musharraf when he imposed emergency rule in November last year as then army chief.
"We shall not rest till the judges are reinstated and Musharraf is ousted," he said, adding that the alliance would decide the future course of action at a meeting early next month.
The alliance's demands followed a meeting between PPP co-chiarman Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif in Lahore on Wednesday which failed to bridge differences on modalities for the restoration of the judges. The two top leaders of the ruling coalition are due to meet again today in a bid to evolve a common position.
The judicial row has brought the partnership between the two major parties under ominous strain. The PML-N had withdrawn all its ministers from the federal government and linked their return to the judges' reinstatement, while remaining part of the coalition.
The PPP leadership wants to restore the judges through an amendment to the constitution while the PML-N insists the reinstatement should be done through a National Assembly resolution and executive order as publicly pledged by Zardari and Sharif in a joint declaration in March.
We shall not rest till the [sacked] judges are reinstated and [President Pervez] Musharraf is ousted."
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