India appoints new envoy to Islamabad

16 March 2009

With Pakistani prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani pledging to reinstate Supreme Court justices fired under military rule in 2007, a dangerously escalating confrontation between the government and the opposition stood defused with the ''Long March'' to the nation's capital Islamabad being called off by the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz). Equity markets welcomed the development with stocks registering nine month highs.

The prime minister confirmed that chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, and other deposed judges, would be restored to their posts on 21 March when the current chief justice demits office on retirement. This fully met the demands of protesters who were also cheered by news that all detained in the course of the agitation would be released as well.

The benchmark Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index was up rose 313.07 points, or 5.4 per cent, to 6,063.54 at close.

Indian envoy
Meanwhile, India welcomed the end of the political crisis in Pakistan and said it hoped that the government in Islamabad will be stable so it can devote its attention to fighting terrorism. According to India's external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, ''... it is in our interest if democratic government is in place in Pakistan, which acts as a bulwark against terrorism and extremism.'

Mukherjee said India hoped that the 'internal confrontation of Pakistan will come to an end so that it could devote attention to the fight against terrorism.'

India took advantage of the apparent respite in the rapidly escalating domestic crisis in Pakistan to name a new envoy to Islamabad as the tenure of the existing envoy, Satyabrata Pal, expired on 28 February. The replacement is Sharat Sabharwal, currently special secretary in charge of administration, consular, passport and visa affairs in the external affairs ministry.