LONDON, July 21: Most British media on Saturday interpreted the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry by the Supreme Court as a first effective challenge to President General Pervez Musharraf’s absolute power.

The Daily Telegraph said the power of the president had been dented. The Times saw the ruling dealing a serious blow to the authority of General Musharraf. The Guardian felt that President Pervez Musharraf’s grip on power has weakened suddenly. The Independent said it dealt President Pervez Musharraf a damaging and embarrassing blow.

Most newspapers felt that it would be well neigh impossible now for President Musharraf to get himself re-elected for a new five-year term from the current assemblies. According to some of the newspapers the verdict is likely to embolden pro-democracy activists calling for the general’s removal. The Chief Justice, according to them, had become a popular symbol of opposition to Gen Musharraf.

“The court ruling comes as Pakistan continues to be battered by a wave of bloody attacks, triggered by the storming of a radical mosque by commandos last week in Islamabad,” said the DT.