U.S. shies away from taking stance on Pakistan judges

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States, which views Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf as a vital ally in fighting terrorism, shied away on Monday from taking a stance on the possible restoration of judges seen as hostile to him.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif agreed on Sunday to join the late Benazir Bhutto's party in a coalition, raising the prospect of a government hostile to Musharraf, who dismissed the judges when he imposed emergency rule in November.

Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower and the new leader of the Pakistan People's Party, or PPP, also agreed to restore dismissed judges within a month of forming a coalition government.

The dismissed judges, including the Supreme Court chief justice, were seen as hostile to Musharraf's October re-election by legislators for a new five-year term as president while he was still army chief.

The judges are likely to take up legal challenges to Musharraf if they are restored, potentially calling into question his political future.

Zardari, who took over as PPP leader after Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, and Sharif agreed the reappointment of the dismissed judges would occur through a parliamentary resolution within 30 days of the formation of the government.

"Those are entirely their decisions to make," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

"It is our view that these are issues that need to be handled solely by the Pakistanis," he added. "We don't have a vote in this, nor should we."

Bhutto's PPP won the most seats in a February 18 general election but not enough to rule alone. Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), or PML (N), party came second and while it had promised to support the PPP, Sharif had not previously confirmed his party would join the PPP in government.