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 29 August 2008 07:49 BST

Musharraf vows to honour judge reinstatement

Saturday, 21 Jul 2007 13:05
Red Mosque siege among crises facing president Pervez Musharraf
Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf has vowed to honour a supreme court decision to reinstate the country's chief justice.

Iftikhar Chaudhry had been charged with accusations of misusing his office by Mr Musharraf's administration in March this year, but the 58-year-old denied the allegations and refused to resign.

Yesterday the 13-member supreme court voted ten-three in ruling Mr Chaudhry's suspension was illegal.

And Mr Musharraf's spokesman told the government's Associated Press of Pakistan that the president "respects the decision of the supreme court".

"The president has stated earlier that any judgment the supreme court arrives at will be honoured, respected and adhered to," he added.

Since initially being suspended, Mr Chaudhry has toured the majority of the south Asian country's cities in a reinstatement campaign largely overtaken by opposition political movements.

Mr Musharraf's move against the 58-year-old had been seen in Pakistan as a blatant attempt to silence the judiciary in an election year.

Yesterday in an announcement that brought cheers from lawyers present and prompted chants of "go Musharraf, go" from outside the court, Judge Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday said: "The reference [against Mr Chaudhry] has been set aside and the chief justice has been reinstated."

Mr Musharraf, who seized power in Pakistan in a bloodless coup eight years ago, has been facing increasing political criticism in recent months, while the violent siege of the Red Mosque and a spate of bombings across the country have added to the pressures already facing him.End of story


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