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Violence turns to celebration as judge reinstated
Ed Harris16 Mar 2009
THE Supreme Court chief justice whose sacking sparked street clashes in Pakistan made his first public appearance today after being reinstated.
Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry was mobbed by supporters, who waved flags and cheered as he made a brief appearance on the balcony of his home in the capital, Islamabad.
His unexpected release came after Pakistan's prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, bowed to mounting pressure, making a dawn announcement that the judge would be sworn back in on Saturday.
Activists said the decision was a triumph for democracy, and the nation's stock market rallied this morning.
Ali Ahmad Kurd, a leader of protesting lawyers, said: "No country can progress without an independent judiciary and the government - by restoring the chief justice and other judges - has also realised it, and we think it is a big success."
Mr Chaudhry's release led activist lawyers and opposition politicians to drop plans to march on the capital and stage a sit-in at Parliament today.
Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister and head of the largest opposition party, thanked President Asif Zardari and Mr Gilani after the announcement, but suggested his position had been strengthened.
"From here, God willing, the fate of this nation will change," Mr Sharif said, using a microphone from inside his jeep as it was mobbed by supporters. "From here, a journey of development will start. From here, a revolution will come."
Meanwhile, there was a reminder of the on-going troubles in Pakistan today when militants torched vehicles and supplies intended for Nato and US troops in Afghanistan, the second such assault in the lawless north west in two days.
Former President Pervez Musharraf fired Mr Chaudhry in 2007 after he took up cases challenging his rule, sparking a wave of protests that helped force the military ruler from office last year. Overall, Mr Musharraf sacked 60 judges. Most have been reinstated.
Mr Zardari pledged to restore Mr Chaudhry within 30 days of his party forming a government in spring last year. But he reneged, apparently fearing Mr Chaudhry might examine a deal that Mr Zardari and his wife - assassinated politician Benazir Bhutto - struck with Mr Musharraf to grant them immunity from prosecution over alleged corruption.
Mr Zardari's aide Farahnaz Ispahani said today he and the prime minister "recognised the mood of the people" and "agreed it was in the country's best interest for stability" to restore Mr Chaudhry.
Mr Gilani promised the restoration of all the other judges who had remained off the bench since Mr Musharraf sacked them.
He further ordered the release of activists arrested over the past week and appealed for political reconciliation in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation which faces an economic crisis.
Western leaders feared the crisis was distracting Pakistan from its fight against Taliban and al Qaeda militants operating along the Afghan border.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had urged Mr Zardari and Mr Sharif to strike a deal.
The US Embassy in Islamabad said: "This is a statesman-like decision taken to defuse a serious confrontation, and the apparent removal of this long-standing issue is a substantial step towards national reconciliation."
