Without solid international or political cover and needing to move back into a more populist position, Pakistani President Zardari reached out to former Prime Minister Sharif and called for “tolerance, mutual accomodation and respect for dissent ….” His efforts even went so far as the government asking the Supreme Court to lift the ban on the Sharif brothers holding political office.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, under pressure from his U.S. supporters yielded and agreed to reinstate Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudry. The U.S. supports President Zardari but the administration is also supporting public marches and demonstrations to which Zardari and his appointed local governor, Salmaan Taseer, have opposed. The main demonstration that was planned was directed by former Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, ostensibly with the goal of getting President Zardari to reinstate the former Chief Justice Chaudry who was ousted during former President Pervez Musharraf’s administration.