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Pakistan defuses crisis, agrees to restore judge
Mon Mar 16, 2009 1:14am EDT
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By Kamran Haider
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's government agreed on Monday to reinstate Iftikhar Chaudhry as chief justice to defuse a political crisis and end a street agitation threatening to turn into violent confrontation.
Chaudhry became a cause celebre after being dismissed in late 2007 by then-president and army chief General Pervez Musharraf.
"I announce the restoration of all deposed judges including Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry according to a promise made by the president of Pakistan and myself," Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said in a televised address to the nation.
Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif had thrown his support behind the anti-government lawyers' protest campaign that had threatened to bring turmoil to nuclear-armed Pakistan as the government struggles to stem militancy and revive a flagging economy.
After the prime minister's announcement, Sharif called off a "long march" protest making its way to the capital, Islamabad.
The political crisis gripping the Muslim nation had alarmed the United States and Britain, which fear any slide into chaos would help the Taliban and al Qaeda become stronger in Pakistan.
The United States welcomed Chaudhry's reinstatement.
"This is a statesmanlike decision taken to defuse a serious confrontation, and the apparent removal of this long-standing national issue is a substantial step toward national reconciliation," the U.S. embassy said.
The government is also struggling with an ailing economy that was bailed out with a $7.6 billion International Monetary Fund package in November.
Pakistan's main stock index, hurt by political worry over the past few weeks, surged more than 5 percent at the open.
But some analysts saw Chaudhry's comeback adding to Pakistan's complexities.
"The reinstatement ... will further complicate politics," said Brian Cloughley, a British defense analyst familiar with Pakistan. "Nobody knows what his allegiance is, in terms of Pakistan's constitution."
President Asif Ali Zardari, elected by parliament six months ago, had feared Chaudhry could wage a vendetta against Musharraf that could also threaten his own position.
Although he has a healthy majority in parliament, Zardari's
retreat on the issue will raise questions about his future, and enhance the standing of his main rival, former prime minister Sharif. Continued...
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