Monday, March 24, 2008

Pakistan's Parliament has elected former speaker and Bhutto loyalist Yousaf Raza Gilani as the nation's new prime minister.Gilani was a longtime aide to slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, whose party now dominates the legislature after last month's elections. He spent five years in prison under President Pervez Musharraf.He will be sworn in Tuesday by Musharraf.Gilani would then proceed to form a new government dominated by the US-backed president's foes.The new administration has also promised to restore senior judges purged when Musharraf declared a state of emergency in November. The country's chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, has been under house arrest for more than four months.Iftikhar Chaudhry releasedPakistan's state-run news agency has quoted a senior Islamabad administrator as saying ''all deposed judges are free.''President Pervez Musharraf fired and detained 60 judges in November to protect his disputed presidency from legal challenges. Most of them have been freed, but among those still held is former Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, who has been under house arrest in Islamabad for more than four months.Earlier, newly-elected premier Yousaf Raza Gilani told parliament he wanted the judges released immediately.

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