Amid efforts for his impeachment, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday approved reinstatement of eight deposed judges of the Sindh high court but the province's sacked chief justice, a critic of the former military ruler, was not among them.
The law ministry had recommended that the eight judges, who were among those sacked by Musharraf during last year's
emergency rule, should be re-appointed and sent an official notification in this regard to the Presidency.The ministry is now expected to issue a fresh order regarding the reinstatement of the deposed judges. However, sacked chief justice of the Sindh high court,
Sabihuddin Ahmed, a critic of Musharraf, was not among the judges who were restored.
Musharraf's move to reinstate only eight judges will not go down well with the lawyers' movement, which has been demanding that all the deposed justices should be restored through a parliamentary resolution and an executive order issued by the prime minister.
The move came even as Pakistan's ruling coalition discussed a move to impeach Musharraf, who has vowed to continue playing his constitutional role as the head of state.
Musharraf had sacked nearly 60 judges for not endorsing the
emergency imposed by him last year.