A number of good things were said by the PPP and PML-N leaders on Tuesday. Prime Minister Gilani maintained that the PPP had never accepted the 17th amendment and 58(2)B and their repeal was required by the party's manifesto. He reiterated that the PPP would live up to its promise to restore all judges, including deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and that the PML-N would subsequently be invited to join the coalition. Information Minister Sherry Rehman noted that while a number of cases were initiated against the PPP leaders by the past PML-N administrations, the PPP would not do so. Mian Nawaz Sharif said that he would never approve of the military's interference in politics. He also said that he would not favour anything that could destabilize democracy in the country had Nobel sentiments, but are they really matched by actions? The issue of the restoration of judges continues to linger on. Failure to reinstate them has led to the parting of ways between the two major parties, which are gradually moving towards a collision course, despite the best wishes being expressed by them,. The government has reinstated a number of judges who agreed to take a fresh oath. Attorney General Latif Khosa has told the press that the government has finally decided to retire those not willing to follow suit. According to him the government considers Justice Dogar the rightful Chief Justice and the deposed CJ could only be reinstated if he agreed to work under him. All this appearing in the press the same day creates a perception of the government not being sincere in reinstating the judges, least of all deposed CJ. While the NRO has been used to withdraw cases of corruption and misuse of authority against several politicians and bureaucrats, three corruption references instituted in 2000 against Mian Nawaz and his family members have been reopened by the NAB despite the cabinet decision to disband the Bureau a week earlier. It is surprising that the references have been reopened while PM Gilani maintains that "NAB has no worth" and PPP Spokesman Farhatullah Babar says his party did not accept the Bureau as it has been used for political motives. Meanwhile despite his avowed love for democracy and opposition to military intervention, Mian Nawaz Sharif is running short of patience. His statement that the government would not be able to complete its tenure if it broke promises raises the spectre of road and train marches and shutter down strikes that led to the premature dismissals of elected governments and the final overthrow of the system by General Musharraf. The PPP and PML-N have to match their good wishes with similar actions to sustain the fledgling democracy.