ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Signaling a break with Washington’s longtime dependence on President Musharraf as the overriding political force in Pakistan, two senior American envoys held talks yesterday with foes of the former general on a day that the new guard moved to assert its claim to power.

The round of discussions by Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Richard Boucher coincided with the swearing in of Pakistan’s new prime minister, Yusaf Raza Gillani, completing a transition to civilian rule. Mr. Gillani now leads a ruling coalition solidly arrayed against Mr. Musharraf, who administered him the oath of office. In a calculated snub of the president, the ceremony was boycotted by most lawmakers and leaders from Mr. Gillani’s party, that of assassinated leader Benazir Bhutto.

Mr. Gillani, confirmed by the newly elected National Assembly a day earlier, had challenged Mr. Musharraf immediately by ordering the release from house arrest of judges fired and detained by the Pakistani president last year.

Those included the popular chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, who had gained folk-hero status during nearly five months’ confinement to his official residence. With police barricades around his home removed, Mr. Chaudhry spent the day greeting a parade of well-wishers.