Pervez advised to strike a compromise with CJ

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has been advised by his political supporters to strike a compromise with the suspended chief justice as any hardline military solution could lead to greater confrontation.

Members of the ruling Pakistani Muslim League, who provide Musharraf's base of support in Parliament, have also recommended that the General open the elections for the presidency, which are supposed to take place this year, to his exiled political opponents and make sure that the polling is free and fair.

The members were quoted by New York Times as saying that nationwide protests since the suspension of the country's chief justice in March, and violent clashes that left 42 people dead in Karachi on May 12, have cast a pall over his leadership.

They are encouraging Musharraf to strike a compromise with the suspended chief justice, who did not shy away from challenges to the government and whose removal has been protested as a threat to the judiciary, the paper said.

The alternative to compromise, party members warn, is a hardline military solution that leads only to greater confrontation, the report said.

For the moment, Musharraf seems to be sticking to his planned course to maintain power rather than seek conciliation with either the suspended chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, or his political rivals, supporters and opponents were quoted by the paper as saying.

Opposition members and some from the ruling party, the Times says, warn that not only is Musharraf's future at stake, but also the stability of the country, which sits on the front line of American efforts to combat Taliban insurgents and Al Qaeda.

First Published: May 22, 2007 13:07 IST