Protest march called off after judge reinstated

Pakistan agreed today to reinstate a fired Supreme Court chief justice, a move that will help defuse a political crisis that sparked street battles and raised fears of instability in the US-allied country at a time of surging Islamist violence.

Opposition leaders and lawyers had vowed to sit in at the parliament in Islamabad later today until Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, known for his independence and willingness to challenge authority, was reinstated.