Pakistan

Top judge to be reinstated, Islamabad protest march stops here

Article published on the 2009-03-16 Latest update 2009-03-16 17:58 TU

Lawyers and opposition supporters celebrate at dawn the government's decision to reinstate the chief justice, 16 March 2009
(Photo: Reuters)

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani promised to reinstate the country’s top judge after mass protests over the weekend. Main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif welcomed the move, and halted a protest march which was due to arrive in Islamabad on Monday.

"I announce today that Iftikhar Chaudhry and all other deposed judges will be reinstated from 21st March," the date when the acting chief justice, Abdul Hameed Dogar steps down, said Gilani in an address to the nation at dawn on Monday, following talks overnight with President Asif Ali Zardari and Army Chief Ashfaq Kayani.

Gilani ordered the release of all those arrested in protests over the past few days, and lifted a ban on public demonstrations.

 

The government has been under international pressure to defuse a standoff with lawyers and civil activists urged on by Sharif, who defied a house arrest order to lead the protest over three days towards Islamabad.

Chaudhry and 60 other judges were dismissed in November 2007 by former President, General Pervez Musharraf. Fifty-three have since been reinstated.