Re: New Pakistan PM to Seek Judges’ Release
Pakistan PM orders judges freed
Yusuf Raza Gillani on 19 March 2008
Ex-Speaker Yusuf Raza Gillani had been front-runner
New Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani has ordered the release of all judges detained under emergency rule, minutes after being elected by MPs.
President Pervez Musharraf sacked dozens of judges in November and former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was among those still held.
Mr Gillani is from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which emerged the main winner of recent elections.
This is the first time in 12 years that the PPP will head the government.
It will lead a coalition that has a substantial majority.
UN probe
Mr Gillani made two key pledges in his speech following his election by parliament.
The first was to demand “the immediate release of all the arrested judges”.
President Musharraf (R in carriage) arriving for parade
Mr Musharraf (R) was badly weakened by the February elections
Mr Musharraf had sacked the judges because the Supreme Court was set to rule on whether his re-election as president was legal. Most have since been freed from detention.
Mr Gillani’s second pledge was to seek a resolution calling for a UN investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
The PPP nominated Mr Gillani as its candidate at the weekend.
The BBC’s Syed Shoaib Hasan in Islamabad says Mr Gillani is much admired within the PPP. He resisted pressure from President Musharraf to desert the party, refusing to do any deals with him.
The former parliamentary Speaker went to jail in 2001, serving five years following a conviction over illegal government appointments.
The sentence was passed by an anti-corruption court formed by President Musharraf as part of what he termed measures to cleanse politics.
Asif Ali Zardari
Ms Bhutto’s widower is still the PPP’s most powerful figure, say analysts
His opponents say it was a means of intimidating and coercing their members to join his government.
He will be facing token opposition from President Musharraf’s allies, who were soundly defeated in recent elections.
He will have the daunting task of holding together a large coalition, tackling Islamic militancy and severe economic problems.
The PPP, which was led by Benazir Bhutto until her assassination in December, emerged as the biggest party in the February elections.
It is now headed by her widower, Asif Ali Zardari.
On Monday he was quoted in The News newspaper as saying that Mr Gillani would serve a full five-year term as prime minister.
There has been widespread speculation that Mr Zardari only wants the next prime minister to hold the post on an interim basis while Mr Zardari takes the necessary steps to make himself eligible to become prime minister.
That would include Mr Zardari winning a parliamentary seat in a by-election.
