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Transcript of Part of Owen Bennett-Jones's interview of the co-chairman of the Pakistan People's Party, Asif Zardari
Interviewer: Will you restore him?
Zardari: Hopefully. It's part of it.
Interviewer: Hopefully?
Zardari: Yeah, it depends on the parliament. Not me, I cannot restore or not restore anybody else.
Zardari: Why do you think I'm not?
Interviewer: Because you've just told me it's not up to you when it is up to you. If you ask the parliament to do this, it will happen tomorrow. It can happen in half an hour.
Zardari: No it cannot happen in half an hour. Even if Mr. Sharif wants it, it can't happen in half an hour.
Interviewer: Why not?
Zardari: There has to be a consensus in the parliament, right? For that there has to be a bill drafted which is being drafted today and its being looked at. I have come to power, People's Party has come to power, we have lost our leader to politics; the fourth leader we're losing to politics! We intend to change the system. I'm not interested in restoring only the judges, I'm interested in restoring the judiciary, the rule of law, the majesty of law, so that no other Asif Zardari stays in prison under trial for eight years and Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry does not say: "I have not read the case so I cannot hear the case." That was my last case. What was the case? A BMW case. Less duty has been paid. The law of the land is: if duty is unpaid, you take the car, you don't take the man! In that case I was languishing in prison for two years and I went to Chaudhry Iftikhar five times. So we do not allow the judiciary again to do that. The judiciary is on record. They have killed my father-in-law. They admit their judicious murder!
Interviewer: If I can say so, your whole demeanor has just changed in the last minutes. You're angry, and it seems to me that you're angry with this man, this chief justice. (Zardari interrupts: No!) And well, the difficulty of course is that the vast bulk of Pakistan wants this man restored to office.
Zardari: Ok, let me correct you. I'm not angry. If I'm not angry with the people I'm sitting in politics with, who I have marks on my body of.
Interviewer: You're referring to the fact that many of your coalition partners played a role in putting you in prison. I mean, that's true!
Zardari: I was the prisoner of Mr. Musharraf for five years. So if I'm not angry at them, if I haven't asked for the death sentence for the killing of my wife, I don't believe in anger. It's a wasted energy.
Zardari: No no, not a man, but (of) the system.
Interviewer: Would you feel comfortable with this man as Chief Justice again?
Zardari: You will feel comfortable. Pakistan will feel comfortable with the new laws that the parliament brings in, the package that I bring in. It will be to strengthen the judiciary so that they can do justice and not politics.
Interviewer: And as part of that, will Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry be restored?
Zardari: I think so.
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