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Pakistan's ousted chief justice back at work

Agence France Presse - March 23, 2009

Islamabad – Pakistan's deposed chief justice resumed his post yesterday, 16 months after he was ousted and a week after new protests over his fate pushed the nation into chaos.

Ifitkhar Muhammad Chaudhry immediately began work, assigning different benches to hear pending cases in a judicial system facing a massive backlog. Justice Chaudhry and 60 other top judges were sacked in 2007 by the then president, Pervez Musharraf, who feared the Supreme Court would disqualify him from contesting a presidential election while remaining in uniform as the chief of army staff.

In a dramatic climbdown, following months of broken promises and protests from lawyers, the Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, announced last Monday that the Government had decided to reinstate Justice Chaudhry. It was a move calculated to end political turmoil after a three-week showdown between the opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, who was demanding Justice Chaudhry's reinstatement, and Mr Musharraf's unpopular successor as president, Asif Ali Zardari.

Jubilant lawyers and members of civil society groups gathered outside the chief justice's official residence in Islamabad to celebrate his return.

Imran Khan, the former cricketer turned campaigning politician who was among those calling for Justice Chaudhry's reappointment, said his restoration was "a slap in the face" for Mr Musharraf. But Mr Khan urged Justice Chaudhry not to compromise in dispensing justice, even to Mr Zardari.

"There can be no compromise now and if there is one, what is the point of reinstating the chief justice?" he said. "The reason the people rallied behind him is because they wanted an independent judge who should seek no orders from the Government."

He urged Justice Chaudhry to review the immunity deal protecting Mr Zardari from prosecution over long-standing corruption charges. Mr Zardari was elected president after his wife, Benazir Bhutto, originally the candidate, was assassinated on the campaign trail.

"If he doesn't take up that case, I'd say it would be the biggest let-down in history," said Mr Khan. (Agence France-Presse; Telegraph, London)

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