Fired chief justice to be reinstated

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan agreed today to reinstate a fired chief justice, a government official said, a move that could help defuse a political crisis that has sparked street battles and raised fears of instability in the country at a time of surging Islamist violence.

Opposition leaders and lawyers had vowed to sit-in at the parliament later today until Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, known for his independence and willingness to challenge authority, was reinstated.

The capital has been barricaded and scores of extra police brought in amid fears of violence.

In a dawn address to the nation that capped a night of high drama, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani announced Chaudhry would be sworn in Saturday, the day the current chief justice was due to retire. The speech triggered scenes of jubilation outside Chaudhry’s home in the capital, Islamabad.

Gilani also ordered all lawyers and political activists arrested over the past week to be freed immediately.

The concession came as thousands of protesters led by Nawaz Sharif, the head of the largest opposition party and a longtime foe of President Asif Ali Zardari, were traveling to Islamabad in a convoy to join the planned sit-in.

Sharif joined the convoy after ignoring a house arrest order in his hometown of Lahore in Punjab, where his supporters fought running battles with police.

Party spokesman Pervaiz Rasheed said it had received confirmation of the government’s decision to restore Chaudhry from “its messengers” and said Sharif would address supporters after Gilani’s address, after which the convoy would return to Lahore.

Chaudhry was fired by former President Pervez Musharraf in 2007 after he took up cases challenging his rule, sparked a wave of protests that helped force Musharraf from power in 2008.

Musharraf’s successor, Zardari, pledged to reinstate Chaudhry within 30 days of taking office, but reneged on the promise, apparently out of fear the justice might target him for past corruption cases.