Detained Judges Released. Well Done PM

گرفتار ججوں کی رہائی: نئے وزیرِاعظم کا پہلا ’حکم‘

یوسف رضا گیلانی نے اپنے پہلے مختصر خطاب میں گرفتار ججوں کی فوری رہائی کا ’حکم‘ دیا ہے لیکن کہا ہے کہ جج اپنے مسائل احتجاج کی بجائے پارلیمان کے اندر حل کرائیں۔ انہوں نے یہ بھی کہا ہے کہ ان کی حکومت بینظیر بھٹو کے قتل کی تحقیقات اقوامِ متحدہ سے کروانے اور ذوالفقار علی بھٹو کے عدالتی قتل پر معافی کے لیے پارلیمان میں قرارداد پیش کرے گی۔

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Excerpts from BBC

New Pakistani PM Yusuf Raza Gillani has said he will order the release of all judges detained under emergency rule, minutes after being elected by MPs.

President Pervez Musharraf in November sacked dozens of judges as the Supreme Court was set to rule on whether his re-election was legal.

Former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was among those still held.

...

Mr Gillani made two key pledges in his speech following his election.

The first was to demand "the immediate release of all the arrested judges", sparking cheers from most of the gathered MPs.

Police have already removed barbed wire from outside Mr Chaudhry's home in Islamabad, where he has been under house arrest.

Mr Chaudhry later appeared on his balcony to wave to hundreds of supporters. It was his first public appearance for four months.

He thanked his "fellow judges and the entire nation".

Iftikhar Chaudhry made his first public appearance for four months

"I have no words to express my gratitude to the way you have struggled... to reach this day," he said.

It is not clear exactly how many judges are held or when they might be freed.

However, correspondents say the PM should have the power to free those such as Mr Chaudhry who were held under executive rather than court orders.

Mr Gillani's second pledge was to seek a resolution calling for a UN investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

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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.