Iftikhar Chaudhry terms his restoration as "great success"

Former Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhary on Monday, thanked lawyers and the public for the "great success" of the campaign that led to his restoration as Pakistan erupted in celebrations following the government's announcement that all judges sacked during the 2007 emergency would be reinstated.

At the Lahore High Court, lawyers were joined by political workers in enthusiastic celebrations. People beat drums and danced traditional Punjabi bhangra. At the High Court in Karachi, men and women joined lawyers in dancing, flashing the V for victory symbol and distributing sweets.

In his first public appearance after prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said in a pre-dawn televised address that the deposed chief justice would be reinstated, Chaudhry thanked lawyers, civil society activists and the public for backing the movement for restoration of the sacked judges.

"Had he not taken the decision to reinstate chief justice Chaudhry, the country could have landed in deep trouble," said Shakoor Tahir, an architect from Rawalpindi.

Waving to hundreds of cheering people who had gathered on the lawns of his official residence in the Judges Colony, Chaudhry said God had granted them a "great success".

Lawyers, political party workers and civil society activists began gathering outside Chaudhry's home after midnight when reports came in that he would be restored.

Giving in to pressure from the lawyers' movement and the main opposition PML-N party, the ruling Pakistan People’s Party decided to reinstate the judges who were sacked by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in late 2007.

People awoke to frenzied celebrations across the country as concerns over a possible confrontation between the PPP and PML-N on the judges issue was replaced by jubilation at Chaudhry’s reinstatement 16 months after he was deposed.

Celebrations were also organised by bar associations and political parties in Multan, Quetta, Peshawar, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and other cities. In most places, lawyers and political workers organised rallies and marched through the streets, shouting slogans in support of Chaudhry.

Leaders of the lawyers’ movement, which was launched after Musharraf first suspended Chaudhry in March 2007, addressed the rallies and called on the government to ensure the independence of the judiciary.

With the lawyers and the PML-N calling off their "long march" and a planned sit-in near parliament after the government said it would reinstate the judges, authorities began removing road blocks and police pickets that were meant to block protestors from entering Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Freight containers used to block key highways in the two cities were towed away and hundreds of police and paramilitary personnel deployed in the two cities were withdrawn.

With the government having closed educational institutions due to fears of unrest during the long march, many youngsters joined celebrations on the streets. Many people acknowledged the role played by prime minister Gilani to defuse the political crisis over the judges’ issue.

People exchanged greetings through SMS while the business community welcomed the government’s decision to restore the judges, saying it had averted unnecessary tensions that could have affected trade.

Hundreds of lawyers, civil society activists and political workers detained during the long march were freed on the prime minister's orders. Some 150 people, including 80 lawyers, were released from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Monday morning.

They had been arrested on charges of violating prohibitory orders banning rallies and protests.