New Prime Minister Frees Pakistani Judges
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — An icon of resistance to the rule of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, the deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, emerged late yesterday from nearly five months of house arrest. He was freed as the first act of a Benazir Bhutto loyalist elected as prime minister hours earlier.
It was the latest tumultuous twist in a Pakistani political saga that over the past year has seen the fall from grace of the American-backed Mr. Musharraf, the December 27 assassination of Bhutto, and the triumph of her party in last month’s elections. Yousaf Raza Gillani, chosen as prime minister by Bhutto’s party and its main coalition partner over the weekend, won an overwhelming endorsement by Parliament. Addressing lawmakers, he declared he was ordering the release of Mr. Chaudhry and other detained judges.
