[JURIST] Pakistani Law and Justice Minister Farooq H. Naik has prepared a constitutional package that could restore judges ousted by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf [official profile; JURIST news archive], the Pakistani Nation daily reported Monday. The package, which has reportedly been forwarded to Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani [official profile], calls for a parliamentary committee to limit the tenure of the chief justice to three years. The constitutional amendments also call for restoration of the 1973 Constitution and the abolition of Article 58(2)b [texts], which empowers the president to dissolve the government and the parliament. ANI has more.

The new coalition government, formed by the Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan Muslim League [party website], has vowed to establish a fully independent judiciary and work together to reinstate judges [JURIST reports] ousted by Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule [proclamation, PDF; JURIST report] last November. Pakistani Attorney General Malik Qayyum has said reinstating the judges would require a constitutional amendment [JURIST report] with a two-thirds majority vote in parliament.