Ousted jurist gets joyous reception

Tens of thousands of demonstrators joined the biggest rally yet in the protests over President Pervez Musharraf’s March 9 suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, giving the ousted jurist a joyous reception before he delivered a speech in an opposition stronghold.

Chaudhry’s convoy defied a new two-month ban on gatherings of more than five people in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, as it started its trip 30 miles north to Abbottabad.

Witnesses estimated that at least 50,000 people gathered along the road. Chaudhry supporters said the crowd surpassed 100,000. Official figures were not immediately available.