Islamabad, Nov 13: The Musharraf regime is considering promulgating an ordinance to reduce the strength of Supreme Court (SC) judges, Attorney General Malik Qayyum has said on Monday.

Qayyum said that there was no ordinance on the cards to declare President Pervez Musharraf as a qualified presidential candidate for the second term.

He told reporters outside the Supreme Court that the government wanted an on-merit decision on petitions challenging Musharraf’s eligibility to run for a second presidential term.

Qayyum said that the court would be requested to decide the case after hearing the government side if the petitioners didn’t appear before the current judges.

He said the SC had given a wrong verdict on the presidential reference against former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

The Daily Times quoted Qayyum as saying that judges, who rejected the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO), were not entitled to pensions, but "the government is considering to give them post-retirement benefits. " (ANI)