WikiLeaks: Shahbaz was in negotiation to remove CJ

PML-N leader was negotiating a "face-saving restoration" to eventually remove Iftikhar Chaudhry.

Chief Minister Punjab and prominent figurehead of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shahbaz Sharif was willing to negotiate the future of the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry even while his party publicly rallied support for the restoration of the chief justice, a newly released wikileaks cable states.

In a meeting with Principal Officer at the Lahore consulate Bryan D Hunt, Shahbaz had stated:

“that the Sharifs’ key demands in these negotiations were: (1) restoration of the electoral eligibility of both Sharif brothers; (2) restoration of Shahbaz Sharif’s government in the Punjab; (3) some sort of face-saving restoration of former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry; and (4) agreement on transfers of powers between the President and the Prime Minister in accordance with the Charter of Democracy.”

The cable says that Shahbaz had said that the PML-N was open to negotiation, provided that Chaudhry was symobolically restored as chief justice of Pakistan, but at the same time Shahbaz claimed to understand that Chaudhry was a problematic jurist whose powers would need to be carefully curtailed.

The cable states that Shahbaz had said that PML-N was prepared to end the issue and “remove Chaudhry once and for all”. This he had said would be done adopting legislation proposed in the Charter of Democracy that would ban all judges who had taken an oath under a Provincial Constitutional Order (PCO) from serving.

Sharif had stated that in his assessment both then current Chief Justice Dogar and Punjab  Governor Salmaan Taseer would not be able to play a role in the new system. Shahbaz had also called Dogar a “completely discredited jurist”.

The goals Sharif has highlighted in the negotiation process were the restoration of the eligibility of both Sharif brothers to contest in national elections and the restoration of his government in the Punjab province.

Shahbaz had underscored that the Sharifs were prepared to adopt any safeguards that President Zardari desired prior to Chaudhry’s restoration, including “curtailment of his powers to create judicial benches, removal of his suo moto jurisdiction, and/or establishment of a constitutional court as a check on the Supreme Court.”

The full text of the cable is available on Dawn.com, The Hindu and NDTV. WikiLeaks had previously released cables to other media organisations including Guardian and the New York Times.

Cable Referenced: WikiLeaks #196903

The full text of the cables can be read on Dawn.com, The Hindu and NDTV. WikiLeaks has previously released cables to other media organisations including Guardian and the New York Times.