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Pakistan's Ruling Coalition Renews Pledge to Restore Judges


The leaders of Pakistan's ruling coalition have renewed a pledge to reinstate top judges ousted last year by President Pervez Musharraf.

Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of murdered opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and head of her Pakistan People's Party, met with former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Tuesday in Islamabad.

The PPP issued a statement after the meeting saying the coalition is committed to the Bhurban declaration, an agreement to reinstate top justices dismissed in November after they refused to recognize Mr. Musharraf's re-election as president.

In a separate development, Pakistan's lower house of parliament adopted a resolution Monday urging the government to seek a U.N. investigation of the killing of Ms. Bhutto. It says the proposed U.N. commission should identify the perpetrators of Ms. Bhutto's assassination and bring them to justice.

Ms. Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack last December in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi as she left an election rally.

President Musharraf has rejected demands by the Pakistan People's Party for a U.N. investigation of the killing. But, the president's political position weakened in February when his allies were defeated in parliamentary elections.

Many opponents of Mr. Musharraf say they believe rogue elements of the Pakistani intelligence agencies were involved in the assassination.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

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