Pakistani Parties Spurn Musharraf, Forge Coalition

Leaders plan to reinstate judges deposed by president
By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 9, 2008 5:11 PM CDT
Pakistani Parties Spurn Musharraf, Forge Coalition
Asif Ali Zardari, right, widower of Benazir Bhutto and co-chairman of Pakistan People's Party greets former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, right, during a press conference in Bhurban near Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, March 9, 2008. Pakistan's election winners sealed an agreement to form a coalition government...   (Associated Press)

Pakistani opposition parties formed a coalition today that snubbed President Pervez Musharraf. The alliance of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif and the late Benazir Bhutto's party will also reinstate the judges deposed by Musharraf last year. Having opposed Musharraf's reelection bid, the judges are also likely to challenge his presidency in court, Reuters reports.

“I don’t see any hurdle in the restoration of the judges now,” one lawyer told the New York Times. “It’s a positive day for democracy in this country.” But the coalition has not yet agreed on a new prime minister. Former Bhutto aide and popular candidate Makhdoom Amin Fahim has said he may step down if he is not chosen. (More Pervez Musharraf stories.)

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