One opposition party, led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, is eager to honor the new administration’s pledge to reinstate Chaudhry and dozens of other judges axed by Musharraf.

But the party of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto appears less so, perhaps wary of provoking further confrontation with Washington’s key ally in its war on terror.

Supporters in Chaudhry’s home city of Quetta hope the independent-minded judge can tap the same groundswell of public sympathy that led tens of thousands to turn out to hear him address bar councils across the country after Musharraf first attempted to sack him last year.

The welcome for Chaudhry in Quetta, a city of 1.5 million people in the deserts of impoverished Baluchistan province, could add pressure on the new ruling coalition to reinstate the axed judges within 30 days. The countdown was to begin later Monday, when Musharraf was to swear in the new Cabinet.

“Musharraf is already on the run,” said Ali Ahmed Kurd, a veteran lawyers’ leader whose fiery oratory placed him at the forefront of the campaign against the president, a former army chief. “The moment the judiciary is restored, he’s gone.”

Chaudhry was to address lawyers at the Baluchistan High Court on Monday evening. He is to stay in Quetta for several days, and his next scheduled trip is the southern city of Sukkur.

Hadi Shakeel, president of the Baluchistan High Court Bar Association, played down fears of militant attacks on the rally. Quetta is widely regarded as a base for Taliban militants fighting in neighboring Afghanistan and ethnic Baluch rebels opposed to the Pakistan government.

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