ISLAMABAD, April 21: PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif on Monday held ‘inconclusive’ talks to finalise a plan for reinstatement of judges.

Informed sources told Dawn that leaders of the two coalition parties held detailed discussion on the draft of a resolution to be tabled in the National Assembly for reinstatement of some 60 judges of superior courts. The meeting, which continued for more than three hours, was held at the Punjab House.

The sources said that Mr Zardari had been assisted by federal ministers Farooq Naek, Syed Khurshid Shah, Sherry Rahman and Rahman Malik, while Mr Sharif was accompanied by Shahbaz Sharif, Khwaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Siddiqul Farooque.

Briefing newsmen after the talks, PML-N spokesman Siddiqul Farooque said: “Today’s talks remained inconclusive, but leaders of the two coalition parties will meet again tomorrow (Tuesday).”

He dispelled a perception that there were differences within the coalition parties over the issue of reinstatement of judges.

“In fact no party can afford failure of talks. It is almost impossible for anyone to back out of the written commitment made by the two parties in the Bhurban Declaration.”

The PML-N leader said the 30-day deadline for the reinstatement of judges would end on April 30 and the nation would soon hear good news. He said the present session of the National Assembly could be extended beyond April 25, if required.

The sources said that Mr Zardari and Mr Sharif had a meeting in a separate room with law minister Farooq Naek and Petroleum Minister Khawaja Asif and discussed the draft of the resolution for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, constitutional expert Justice (retd) Fakharuddin G. Ibrahim, who had prepared the initial draft, also arrived in Islamabad on Monday, setting off speculations that he had been called by leaders of the two coalition parties to help finalise the draft.

However, leaders of the PPP and PML-N rejected the speculations. They, however, did not rule out the possibility of the constitutional expert having been invited to join the Tuesday’s meeting between Mr Zardari and Mr Sharif to give final touches to the draft resolution.

“There is a possibility that he (Justice Ibrahim) may be asked to join the meeting,” Mr Farooque said.

The sources said that although the two sides had complete understanding on the issue of reinstating the judges through a resolution, there were still differences on the draft of the resolution, mode of its implementation and the strategy to deal with its possible implications.

One major issue, the sources said, was the fate of existing judges who had taken oath under the PCO on Nov 3 and again under the 1973 Constitution when the emergency was revoked by President Pervez Musharraf on December 15 last year.

They said the two sides had yet to decide whether the present judges would be asked to continue or they would be sent home. The sources said that some PPP leaders believed that the present judges should not be called the PCO judges as they had also taken the oath under the 1973 Constitution.

They said if the present judges were to be called the PCO judges then deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry would have to be placed in the same category because he also had taken oath under the PCO soon after the 1999 military takeover.

“If the present judges are allowed to function after the reinstatement of deposed judges, then the strength of the Supreme Court and some of the high courts would exceed the sanctioned strength,” said a PPP leader.

In this situation, he said, besides a resolution, the lawmakers would have to introduce a separate law to allow the increase in the number of judges. Therefore, he said, a mere resolution would not be sufficient.

In a related development, Federal Law Minister Farooq Naek, in an interview with DawnNews, said the proposed constitutional package which the government wanted to introduce in parliament after the reinstatement of deposed judges, would contain certain amendments barring judges from validating any military takeover in future.

“There will be clauses and articles in the Constitution under which no judge would be able to validate any PCO (Provisional Constitution Order) in future,” Mr Naed said.

He asserted that there was ‘complete agreement’ among all coalition partners on the issue of reinstatement of judges.

In reply to a question, the law minister said that the constitutional package and reinstatement of judges were separate issues, but there was a need to protect the judiciary from future adventurers.

He said there was also need to shield the Constitution so that nobody could amend it in future.