RFI - Musharraf pledges full support to new Prime Minister

Musharraf pledges full support to new Prime Minister

Article published on the 2008-03-25 Latest update 2008-04-10 13:20 TU

Yousouf Raza Gilani
(Photo: Reuters)

Pakistan’s new Prime Minister was sworn in by President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday, a day after he ordered the release of judges whom Musharraf had placed under house arrest in November 2007. Yousuf Raza Gilani was elected Prime Minister by parliament on Monday by an anti-Musharraf coalition that won elections last month.

Minutes after he was elected Monday Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ordered that the chief justice and other judges who had been held since November be released. Musharraf had put them under house arrest in November, fearing they could weaken his grip on power by challenging his re-election as president.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry came out of his house arrest to meet with lawyers and advisors, waving to supporters. The coalition, led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has vowed to pass legislation within 30 days to reinstate the judges.

Swearing in a political rival

Gilani is a senior member of the PPP, whose head, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated at an election rally December.

At the swearing-in ceremony he faced a grim-faced Musharraf as he took the oath of Prime Minister. Musharraf’s government had jailed Gilani for five years on corruption charges, a move Gilani’s party considered politically motivated.

After swearing him in, Musharraf pledged his "fullest cooperation" saying unity was necessary to fight terrorism.

US keeps an eye on Pakistan

The United States Deputy Secretary of State, John Negroponte, and the Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher arrived in Pakistan for talks with Musharraf, Gilani and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Pakistanis and their allies are watching to see if the Gilani-led coalition government will take on Musharraf.

Musharraf imposed a state of emergency on November 3, 2007, and sacked about 60 judges including Chaudhry when it looked like the Supreme Court might overturn his October re-election as president.

If the judges are reinstated they could rule his re-election as president illegal. This would further destabilise the country that has been plagued by violence, which has been blamed on Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.