JURIST - Paper Chase: Three judges reappointed to Pakistan high court

[JURIST] Three judges ousted from the Pakistani Supreme Court [official website] by former President Pervez Musharraf [JURIST news archive] took new oaths on Friday. Justices Mian Shakirullah Jan, Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and Syed Jamshed Ali rejoined the court [APP report] with seniority retroactive to their removal [JURIST report] in November. Speaking after the swearing-in ceremony, Law Minister Farooq Naek again ruled out [JURIST report] the reinstatement of former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry [JURIST news archive]. Naek said that although Chaudhry could take a new oath, naming him chief justice would require removing Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar [official profile; JURIST news archive], which would create a constitutional crisis [Press Trust of India report]. Also on Friday, the chief justice and two other judges on the Peshawar High Court [official website] were returned to office [Nation report]. AP has more.

The fresh appointments followed clashes between lawyers and police [JURIST report] during a demonstration Thursday in Islamabad. The Pakistani lawyers' movement [AHRC backgrounder; PBS report] has recently renewed its protests to demand the reinstatement of all dismissed judges. Critics describe the recent appointments [JURIST report] of some judges as evidence of a "conspiracy" to undermine support for total reinstatement. The judges' dismissals contributed to Musharraf's resignation and the collapse of the coalition government [JURIST report] last month. Musharraf's successor will be chosen in an election Saturday.

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