“Supporters threw rose petals as Iftikhar Chaudhry arrived for his first day back at work at the Supreme Court in Islamabad,” reports the BBC.

“There is an endemic corruption in this institution. This cannot be eradicated without the help of lawyers,” said Chaudhry (BBC). “I will request all of you, being officers of this court, to put your house in order first.”

In a welcoming statement the Supreme Court Bar Association Secretary said, “Our struggle for rule of law and independence of judiciary has not ended here, rather onerous responsibilities have been placed on our shoulders for seeking justice for teeming millions irrespective of their caste or creed, or religion and without distinguishing between men and women, of high or low social and economic status,” reports the Daily Times.

“Millions of Pakistanis hope his return, after former military ruler Pervez Musharraf sacked him in 2007, will cleanse the judiciary, but experts warn that he faces huge challenges to bring about legislative and institutional reform,” notes AFP.

“Chaudhry’s reinstatement ended a protest campaign by anti-government lawyers and opposition parties but tension has lingered between the country’s two biggest parties: the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of President Asif Ali Zardari and the party of former prime minister and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif,” adds Reuters.

According to the BBC, "One reason for the failure to reinstate him is thought to be the fact that he challenged an amnesty given by Gen Musharraf that enabled Mr Zardari to return to Pakistan, on the grounds that Gen Musharraf's own rule could be illegal."

In his National Day address to the nation on 23 March, Zardari said, “I urge everyone to work in the spirit of tolerance, mutual accommodation, and respect for dissent and invite every one to participate in the national effort for national reconciliation and healing the wounds” (BBC).

“Sworn in on June 30, 2005, one of his [Chaudhry] most famous moves was to take up the cases of missing people allegedly held by Pakistani security forces or handed over to the United States on terror charges,” reports AFP.