Pakistan government agrees to reinstate judge to end crisis

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The Pakistan government agreed on Monday to reinstate Iftikhar Chaudhry as Supreme Court chief justice to end a political crisis that has gripped the Muslim nation, a government official said.

The official added that a constitutional package would also be presented.

President Asif Ali Zardari had hitherto stonewalled calls from the opposition led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and a lawyers' movement to restore the judge.

Chaudhry was dismissed in late 2007 by then-president and army chief Pervez Musharraf, but Zardari regarded the judge as too politicized and feared he could pose a threat to his own presidency if restored.

(Writing by Simon Cameron-Moore; Editing by Charles Dick)