Kathmandu, May 8, 2007

Nepali Congress (NC) President Girija Prasad Koirala today shot down the sustained demand of the local leaders of the party to initiate process to draw a republican manifesto at the end of the four-day conclave in the capital.

“We must give thought to so many things. How can we achieve the objective of the republican order now? Slogans alone are never enough,” Koirala said while addressing NC district unit chiefs and central members of the party.

Saying that the party has to assess the situation before going for a republican order, Koirala made it a point to tell the party workers that international community could change their attitude towards Nepal. “Republican order is a gradual process.

We can go for it later,” Koirala said in the presence of the representatives of the media, taking the steam off what nearly all the district unit chiefs of the party had been demanding for the last four days. Koirala also told the party workers to shed defeatist mentality while they embark on strengthening the party in the districts.

“What is important through times as these is a positive attitude,” Koirala said, adding that what helped the party stand out from the rest is its history. “If we forget our history we will lose,” Koirala said.

Issuing a stern warning to those involved in violence, Koirala said he would not tolerate the activities of the Young Communist League (YCL). Koirala also made it clear that he was for continued eight-party unity.

SC halts hearing into Pak CJ case

The Supreme Court today halted the proceedings of a judicial panel examining complaints against Pakistan’s suspended chief justice, according to state television and lawyers — a new twist in a case that has sparked a political crisis.

The ruling was issued by a five-member bench of the court hearing a petition brought by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry to contest the legality of his March 9 suspension by President Gen Pervez Musharraf, a decision likely to embarrass President Musharraf’s government.

Musharraf’s move against the country’s top judge has sparked mass protests by lawyers and opposition parties calling for a return to civilian rule after the army chief’s nearly eight-year rule.

Tariq Mahmood, a lawyer for Chaudhry, said the court today referred some 28 petitions against Musharraf’s suspension order, including Chaudhry’s, to a full bench of the Supreme Court that would include 12 judges.

In the meantime, it also halted the proceedings of the Supreme Judicial Council — a panel of top judges adjudicating whether Chaudhry’s ouster was justified or if he should be allowed to resume his post.

State-run PTV also reported that hearings by the judicial council, which began on March 13, had been stopped. The next hearing had been due on Wednesday.