Pakistan's most impressive long march may not have shaken the insensitive Presidency of Pervez Musharraf but it has apparently rocked Pakistan People's Party co-chairman Asif Zardari House which is now rushing to resolve the judges issue to avoid further public agitation, said a news report. The tone and tenor of Zardari House has changed after many acknowledged that a huge number of people had gathered in Islamabad to demand an early restoration of the judges and the trial of Musharraf, the report appearing in the leading English language daily The News said. The judges' issue that was earlier pushed to the backburner by the Zardari House, has now become a matter of top priority for the PPP. An influential PPP source said Zardari is rushing back to Islamabad to review the party's strategy on the issue. Clearly distancing itself from its recent stance that the judges would be restored through a constitutional amendment, the Zardari House is now talking of no linkage between the judges' restoration and the constitutional package, something which had become highly controversial. Hinting at the early resolution of the judges' issue, the source said that it is possible soon after the passage of the budget. He said that the restoration of the judges would be done through parliament but without having any connection with the constitutional package. The source, however, maintained that the PPP was reviewing its strategy not because of any pressure but because it wanted to move on to address the other problems facing the nation. No matter what advisor to the prime minister on interior Rehman Malik or people like him may say about the size of the long march, the Zardari House, at least unofficially, admits that it was a great show and there was a sea of people all around. The source, however, takes credit for the security arrangements and for the government's decision to allow the protesters to stage what has become a historic anti-President and anti-Zardari show in front of the parliament house Islamabad. Perhaps trying to feel the pulse of the masses, the PPP source wondered if a repeat of the long march is possible. Zardari House is apparently overlooking the revolutionary tone of its leading ally Nawaz Sharif, who has said that there would be more long marches if the judges are not restored and the presidency is not vacated by Musharraf, the main target of the long march. The protesters, while dancing on popular tunes, had demanded ‘death by hanging' for Musharraf after Nawaz Sharif had declared that the retired general would not be given a safe exit. About the continuation of the judges, who had taken oath under the Nov 2007 Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO), the Zardari House remains firm on its earlier stance that no judge would be removed. The source, however, hinted at a conspicuous change in its previous stance over the role of the PCO judges. He said that the PCO judges might be assigned evening courts and others set up to speedily dispose off the mounting pending cases. A limited role for the PCO judges' might be an option that would be acceptable to all the stakeholders including the lawyers' fraternity, deposed judges and even Nawaz Sharif, who has categorically stated that he would not accept the PCO judges or approve of any proposal in the budget to increase the number of Supreme Court judges. Meanwhile, some top PPP leaders, who have been sidelined by the un-elected advisers of Zardari House, are also expected to meet Zardari to influence the party co-chairman to restore the judges through a National Assembly resolution and remove the president to avoid political instability and chaos. Otherwise, they fear that it would not only badly damage the party but also the country. __
