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25 March 2009 Al-Jazeera -- The reinstated chief
justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court has returned to
work amid rapturous cheers from lawyers.
"It is a day of victory for the people of Pakistan,"
Aitzaz Ahsan, the leader of the lawyers' movement
which had been demanding the reinstatement of Iftikhar
Chaudhry, said on Tuesday.
The government decided to reinstate Chaudhry as the
country's top judge on March 16 defusing a political
crisis that had threatened to bring violent
confrontation to the streets of the capital.
"Welcome, welcome!" scores of lawyers chanted as
Chaudhry arrived at the Supreme Court in the heart of
Islamabad.
Supporters of Chaudhry threw rose petals on his car as
it entered the court compound. Chaudhry had
technically resumed work on Sunday, the day after the
justice who had replaced him retired.
Western officials, who seek to eradicate al-Qaeda and
Taliban fighters active along Pakistan's border with
Afghanistan, have welcomed Chaudhry's return.
Chaudhry was dismissed by Pervez Musharraf, the former
president, on November 3, 2007 along with 60 other
judges, when Musharraf declared emergency rule in a
move to extend his presidency for another term.
Reconciliation
Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president, in a
message on Monday, urged feuding factions to put aside
their differences.
"I urge everyone to work in the spirit of tolerance,
mutual accommodation, and respect for dissent and
invite everyone to participate in the national effort
for national reconciliation and healing the wounds,
Zardari said.
Zardari's message was one of several in recent days
from the ruling party urging peace with the
opposition, which had demanded that Chaudhry be
reinstated.
The prime minister even visited the home of opposition
leader Nawaz Sharif in a goodwill gesture.
Zardari's initial reluctance to reinstate Chaudhry had
set him on a collision course with Sharif and the
lawyers.
The government caved into pressure and agreed to
restore the chief justice after opposition workers and
the lawyers headed to stage a massive rally in
Islamabad. |
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