ISLAMABAD, Aug 18: Moments after President Pervez Musharraf’s announcement to step down, jubilant political workers, students, representatives of the civil society and lawyers gathered outside the Supreme Court and the Parliament House to celebrate what they called the victory of their struggle.

They distributed sweets, released balloons in the air and called upon the government to fulfil its promise of restoring the deposed judges.

They carried posters of deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

Groups of people from different walks of life chanted slogans vowing not to accept any ‘minus-one’ formula and demanding trial of the president for undermining the judiciary and flouting the Constitution.

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) declared to observe Tuesday as a day of deliverance and members of the legal fraternity urged the PPP-led coalition government to live it up to its promise of restoring the pre-emergency judiciary.

Pakistan Bar Council vice-chairman Haji Saiyed Rehman described the president’s resignation as a good omen for the future of democracy and called upon the government to immediately restore the judiciary in accordance with the Bhurban declaration and the Islamabad joint communiqué that asked to reinstate the judges removed through “extra-constitutional means” by Gen Musharraf on Nov 3 (last year).

The resignation of the president is the result of the 17-month long epic struggle waged by the lawyers and, therefore, sooner the judges are restored better would it be for democracy and the rule of law.

The lawyers had waged their struggle on a single-point agenda of restoring the deposed judges, he said.

“Musharraf’s ouster meant clearance of hurdle in the way of reinstatement of the deposed judges and the political partners should announce judges’ reinstatement” said civil society activist Farhan Mujtaba.

His resignation was the result of people’s powers but the next step should be the trial of Musharraf, said civil right activist Ghazala Minallah.