Freed Pakistan judge emerges from house arrest

Pakistan's deposed chief justice made his first public appearance in four months on Mar. 24 after the country's newly-elected premier ordered judges detained by President Pervez Musharraf to be freed. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry waved from the balcony of his house in the capital Islamabad, where he has been kept under house arrest since Musharraf sacked him under a state of emergency on Nov. 3. Musharraf fired 60 judges in November after declaring a "state of emergency." A beaming Chaudhry, accompanied by his wife and children, waved to chanting supporters who chanted slogans in support of the judiciary and waved flags. Pakistan's state-run news agency quoted deputy Islamabad commissioner Amir Ahmed Ali as saying "the order of the prime minister has been implemented and all deposed judges are free to move." His announcement came after newly elected Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani told parliament he wanted the judges released immediately. A longtime loyalist of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, Gilani was elected Pakistan's new prime minister on Mar. 24 and vowed to seek the release of the judges. Gilani will form a new government dominated by Musharraf's foes, who have vowed to slash the US-backed president's sweeping powers and review his counter-terrorism policies. Bhutto's party routed Musharraf's allies in parliamentary elections last month. The National Assembly voted 264-42 to elect Gilani. Most of the judges who were detained have been freed. Gilani vowed he would seek the release of the others. Athar Minallah, a lawyer close to Chaudhry, said the chief judge expected to return to his post soon. "He's in extremely high spirits and is extremely looking forward to taking up his office as the chief justice of Pakistan," Minallah said after emerging from Chaudhry's home. "This is the dawn of a new era. It's the end of dictatorship in this country." Gilani did not comment specifically on whether the judges would be restored. But he said he would ask the National Assembly to endorse an earlier declaration made by the two leading parties calling for the justices to be reinstated within 30 days.