ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s prime minister has confirmed that Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry will be reinstated as chief justice, fulfilling the main demand of a protest movement that has rocked the government.
Yousuf Raza Gilani said Chaud- hry will be sworn in Saturday, after the current chief justice retires.
Gilani also ordered all political-party activists and lawyers who were arrested over the past week to be released.
The announcement today triggered jubilant scenes by lawyers outside Chaudhry’s house in the capital, Islamabad.
Opposition leaders and lawyers had vowed to sit-in at the parliament later today until Chaudhry, known for his independence and willingness to challenge authority, was reinstated. The capital has been barricaded and scores of police brought in amid fears of violence.
The concession came as thousands of protesters led by Nawaz Sharif, 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.
Chaudhry was fired by former President Pervez Mu sharraf in 2007 after he took up cases challenging his rule, sparking a wave of protests that helped force Musharraf from power in 2008.
Musharraf’s successor, Zar dari, pledged to reinstate Chaudhry within 30 days of taking office but reneged on the promise, apparently out of fear that the justice might target him for past corruption cases.
Lawyers and civil-rights activists remained committed to the cause of Chaudhry’s reinstatement, believing it was a vital first step in getting an independent judiciary in Pakistan. The court system has often been abused by past rulers to cement their grip on power.
The early-morning announcement capped a day of high drama.
Before dawn, hundreds of police surrounded Sharif’s residence in Lahore, carrying an order for his house arrest. Sharif denounced the order as illegal and left the house in a convoy of vehicles as police stood by.
Some protesters defied police barricades to gather near Lahore’s main courts complex and pelt riot police with rocks. Police responded with tear gas and beat several protesters with batons. Later, the crowd swelled to several thousands, and police again pulled back.
