Supreme Court officials lined up to shake the hand of Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry when he arrived, they said, three days after judges overturned his suspension by Musharraf in March on misconduct charges.

Chaudhry became an anti-government icon for resisting his ouster, and his reinstatement has sparked speculation that opposition parties will try to lodge legal challenges against Musharraf's military rule.

"We all received him at the gate and congratulated him," court spokesman Arshad Muneer told AFP. "The chief justice shook hands with the court employees and thanked them."