Government agreed on Monday to reinstate Iftikhar Chaudhry as chief justice to defuse a political crisis and end a street agitation that was threatening to turn into violent confrontation, officials said. "Chaudhry will be restored, and there will also be a constitutional package," a government official with knowledge of the deal told Reuters.
President Asif Ali Zardari, who was elected by parliament six months ago, had feared the judge could wage a vendetta against Musharraf that could also threaten his own position.
His retreat on the issue will raise inevitable question marks over his future, while it will enhance the reputation of his chief rival, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Several hundred jubilant lawyers and activists gathered outside Chaudhrys Islamabad residence, which he refused to vacate after his dismissal when Musharraf declared emergency rule in a desperate move to extend his presidency for another term. They danced and chanted "Long live the chief justice".
The political crisis gripping the Muslim nation has alarmed the United States and Britain, which fear any slide into chaos would help the Taliban and al Qaeda become stronger in Pakistan.
Western diplomats had tried to make Zardari pull out of a collision that could destabilise the year-old civilian coalition and force a reluctant army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, to intervene. Zardari finally conceded as the opposition leader and the lawyers held a day of protest in Lahore on Sunday, and set off for Islamabad for the climax of a series of protests they had dubbed "the Long March". To stop them driving into Islamabad, authorities positioned containers and trucks across roads outside the capital.
Paramilitary troops are camped in a city sports complex and deployed at entry points, while, officials say, the army has been put on stand-by.
A senior leader in Sharifs Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) party confirmed the breakthrough. "The message we got is that the government has decided to restore chief justice Chaudhry and they are going to announce it shortly," Khawaja Asif told Reuters. "There will be a very comprehensive package," he said.
The government had been offering concessions earlier, but Sharif refused to accept anything less than Chaudhrys restoration. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was due to address the nation on state-run television shortly. "The Prime Ministers announcement will only reinforce the governments commitment to reconciliation in accordance with the constitution and the spirit of democracy," said Farahnaz Ispahani, a spokeswoman for Zardaris party.