[JURIST] Pakistani police in Karachi used tear gas against lawyers rallying for the restoration of ousted Pakistani superior court judges on Thursday, soon after now-dismissed Pakistani Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry [JURIST news archive] addressed them by telephone from his official residence in Islamabad, where he is still under house arrest. Chaudhry spoke to lawyers at the Sindh High Court Bar Association [official website], saying that the newly elected Pakistani parliament [JURIST report], now controlled by parties opposed to President Pervez Musharraf, should restore judges dismissed by the president after his November proclamation of emergency. Meanwhile hundreds of lawyers demonstrated against Musharraf in other cities throughout the country, but no reported incidents with police occurred other than in Karachi.

The head of Pakistan's Supreme Court Bar Association said Wednesday that lawyers would resume protests [JURIST report] unless the ousted judges were reinstated. AP has more.