ISLAMABAD - PAKISTAN'S supreme court on Tuesday lifted a ban on opposition leader and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif holding office and contesting elections, his lawyer said.

'The judgement is that the order... disqualifying Shahbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif has been set aside,' said Ashtar Ausaf, a lawyer for the brothers.

A February 25 court decision to disqualify Mr Sharif and his brother Shahbaz - chief minister of the country's most important Punjab province - from contesting elections and holding office sparked mass protests in March.

Under Western pressure to defuse the crisis, the government appealed against the ban and agreed to reinstate chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, bowing to a key demand from Mr Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N party.

'The previous verdict was not accepted by people. Today's verdict has been accepted by the majority of the nation,' Mr Sharif told a press conference.

'States and countries prosper on the basis of justice and fair play. We want the rule of law and I salute the Pakistani nation as they secured the independence of the judiciary through their own struggle.'

Noisy supporters gathered outside the Islamabad courtroom, carrying posters of Mr Sharif, who has become Pakistan's most popular politician as President Asif Ali Zardari's approval rating plummets.

Mr Zardari's Pakistan People's Party won elections in February last year months after the assassination of his wife Benazir Bhutto, but his popularity declined as he appeared to backtrack on promises to reinstate Mr Chaudhry.

The government's March 16 promise to put Mr Chaudhry back in office saw Mr Sharif call off a mass protest march on the capital and raised hopes of ending the debilitating political crisis in the nuclear-armed country.

The supreme court had on March 31 suspended the ban on Shahbaz Sharif, but that decision had to clear a final legal hurdle on Tuesday. -- AFP