JURIST - Paper Chase: New Pakistan PM seeking immediate release of ousted judges from house arrest

[JURIST] Newly elected Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani [BBC profile] said Monday that he will ask President Pervez Musharraf to immediately lift house arrest orders against former Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry [JURIST news archive] and other judges. Gilani, addressing the parliament shortly after his election, added that he will also support a parliamentary resolution requesting a UN investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto [BBC obituary; JURIST news archive].

The new coalition government, formed by the Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan Muslim League, has vowed to establish a fully independent judiciary and work together to reinstate judges [JURIST reports] ousted by Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule [proclamation, PDF; JURIST report]. Last Tuesday, Pakistani Attorney General Malik Qayyum said that reinstating the judges would require a constitutional amendment [JURIST report] with a two-thirds majority vote. AP has more.

1:59 PM ET - A Pakistani official said Monday that Gilani's request "has been implemented and all deposed judges are free to move." From Islamabad, the News has more.

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