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Judge To Get Job Back

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The Associated Press

Published: March 16, 2009

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan agreed today to reinstate a fired chief justice, a government official said, a move that could help defuse a political crisis that has sparked street battles and raised fears of instability in the country at a time of surging Islamist violence.
Opposition leaders and lawyers had vowed to sit-in at the parliament today until Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, known for his independence and willingness to challenge authority, was reinstated. The capital has been barricaded and scores of extra police brought in amid fears of violence.

A senior government official said Chaudhry would be sworn in on March 22, the day after the current chief justice was due to retire. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the prime minister was due to formally announce the decision later today.
Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani would soon have "good news" for the country that would "end the crisis."

The concession came as thousands of protesters led by Nawaz Sharif, the head of the largest opposition party and a longtime foe of President Asif Ali Zardari, were traveling to Islamabad in a convoy to join the planned sit-in. Sharif joined the convoy after ignoring a house arrest order in his hometown of Lahore in Punjab, where his supporters fought running battles with police.
Party spokesman Pervaiz Rasheed said it had received confirmation of the government's decision to restore Chaudhry from "its messengers" and said Sharif would address supporters after Gilani's address, after which they would return to Lahore.

"This is a victory for the people of this country," said lawyers' leader Baz Mohammad Kakar. "Chaudhry is the first chief justice in the history of Pakistan who has proved himself to be a judge for the people, as a chief justice for the people."

Chaudhry, 60, was fired by former President Pervez Musharraf in 2007 after he took up cases challenging his rule, sparked a wave of protests that helped force Musharraf from power in 2008.

Lawyers and civil rights activists have remained committed to the cause of Chaudhry's reinstatement, believing it was a vital first step in getting an independent judiciary.

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