Islamabad // Pakistan's coalition government partners entered intensive discussions yesterday to find a replacement for Pervez Musharraf after they forced the former military ruler to resign as president.
But the talks immediately became mired in the controversy that has threatened to break up the partnership since the government formed after elections in February: the reinstatement of judges sacked by Mr Musharraf last year.
The ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) prefers the judiciary be restored through an all-encompassing "constitutional package" that would enable it to hand-pick which judges stay in office and those to be removed.
But its coalition partner, the Pakistan Muslim League-N of Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister ousted by Mr Musharraf in a coup nine years ago, has insisted they all be "restored within 24 hours".
Javed Hasmi, a PML-N leader, said: "Today is the day for the restoration of the judges."
The issue has become an embarrassing thorn between the two parties. In March, when the government was announced, the two parties pledged to restore the judges and the chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, within one month.
Mr Musharraf, with whom the PPP had a power-sharing agreement, opposed their reinstatement. So did the PPP's leader, Asif Ali Zardari, because Mr Chaudhry had questioned legislation granting him amnesty on corruption charges.
Two weeks ago, however, the coalition partners pledged to restore the judges "within 72 hours" of Mr Musharraf's proposed impeachment.
Yesterday, old formulas were discussed on how to reach an agreement. One solution envisages reinstatement of all the judges except Mr Chaudhry. Another includes Mr Chaudhry but only on the understanding that he retires shortly after his reinstatement.
Mr Musharraf's resignation has presented the coalition government with new, as well as old, problems. In his emotional resignation announcement, which was broadcast on television on Monday, he said was stepping down to avoid impeachment charges after nine years in power. But his departure has thrown a burden of responsibility on the shaky coalition government to deal with the nuclear-armed country's woes.
Mr Musharraf's fate is unclear. There is speculation he may still leave the country.
Some reports claim that he will fly to Saudi Arabia, where he will perform the religious pilgrimage of umra, before moving on to another country, possibly the UK or Turkey It appears that a deal brokered by Pakistan's military and the US will ensure that neither the PPP nor the PML-N will make him face criminal charges. The details of the deal were secret.
The PPP's law minister, Farooq H Naek, denied that a deal with Mr Musharraf had been struck. "He resigned himself and as far as his accountability is concerned, coalition partners will decide."
Human Rights Watch yesterday urged the government to undo the "unlawful acts" of the former president and to hold him accountable for his "crimes".
"Musharraf's brazen disrespect for human rights and the rule of law for nearly a decade finally caught up with him," said Ali Dayan Hasan, senior South Asia researcher at the international rights group, which is based in New York.
The choice of a new president must be made within a month of Mr Musharraf's departure.
The senate chairman, Mohammedmian Soomro, a one-time ally of Mr Musharraf, took over as acting president on Monday and will hold the office until the election of a new head of state.
Candidates for president have not been made public. Newspaper reports suggested that a candidate from one of Pakistan's smaller provinces, including Mehmud Khan Achakzai from southwestern Baluchistan province, and Aftab Shoban Mirani, a PPP member from the southern province of Sindh, may be put forward.
Mr Zardari, who would also like to present himself as a candidate, speculated last week that a female candidate would also be a possibility for the job. He has insisted that the president should be from the PPP.
Female candidates may include the speaker of the national assembly, or lower house of parliament, Fehmida Mirza, or Mr Zardari's sister Faryal Talpur.
Najam Sethi, a political analyst and newspaper editor, painted a bleak picture of the government's chances of quickly resolving the judges' issue or agreeing on a new president. "While the two sides wrangle in the full glare of the media, two critical issues are likely to fall by the wayside. The first has to do with bread-and-butter issues ? the second has to do with the war on terror which concerns America and the Pakistan army," he said.
"This is an unpopular war. That is why the army and Mr Musharraf quickly handed over its "ownership" to the civilians shortly after the government was formed. I don't think Mr Zardari will have the time or the inclination to articulate an antiterror policy that satisfies America," he added.
Mr Sethi said the US will probably take further unilateral action on Pakistani soil "regardless of its blowback on Mr Zardari".
"What is incontestable is that the country must move on from this crisis quickly," said an editorial in Dawn, the country's oldest English-language newspaper.
@email:iwilkinson@thenational.ae
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOlive%20Gaea%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Vivek%20Tripathi%2C%20Jessica%20Scopacasa%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELicensed%20by%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20World%20Trade%20Centre%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Climate-Tech%2C%20Sustainability%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%241.1%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECornerstone%20Venture%20Partners%20and%20angel%20investors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%20turbo%204-cylinder%20%2F%202.0%20turbo%204-cylinder%20(S3)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20148bhp%20%2F%20328bhp%20(S3)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20250Nm%20%2F%20420Nm%20(S3)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20December%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20TBA%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
BIRD%20BOX%20BARCELONA
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20David%20and%20Alex%20Pastor%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGeorgina%20Campbell%2C%20Mario%20Casas%2C%20Diego%20Calva%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
