Crowds greet freed Pakistani chief justice

QUETTA, Pakistan, April 1 (UPI) -- Crowds of supporters greeted the Pakistani chief justice in Quetta, Pakistan, for the first time since his release from five months of detention.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry arrived to a throng of supporters from trade unions, lawyers' groups and various political parties, the Pakistani English daily Dawn reported.

The crowds chanted slogans of "Long live the chief justice" and other cries opposing Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf as heavily armed security guards escorted Chaudhry's bullet-proof vehicle during the procession.

Aitzaz Ahsan, the president of the Pakistani Supreme Court Bar Association, noted the supporters wouldn't demonstrate to demand the reinstatement of the deposed judges so long as the Pakistani government honored its pledge to reseat them.