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Pakistan 'crackdown on activists' Pakistan arrests ahead of protest
(about 2 hours later)
Police in Pakistan have arrested dozens of activists to prevent them joining a protest march that begins on Thursday, opposition leaders say. Police in Pakistan have arrested dozens of lawyers and opposition activists ahead of an anti-government protest march due to begin on Thursday.
Political gatherings have also been banned in the two largest provinces - Sindh and Punjab. Political gatherings have also been banned in Sindh and Punjab provinces.
Opposition groups and lawyers have been mobilising support for the four-day march since 25 February. Protesters led by lawyers and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif want judges sacked by former President Pervez Musharraf to be reinstated.
It was then that ex-PM Nawaz Sharif and his brother were barred by the Supreme Court from holding elective office. Tensions are high after the Supreme Court banned Mr Sharif and his brother from holding elected office.
The Sharifs have blamed President Asif Ali Zardari for influencing the decision. Opposition groups and lawyers have been mobilising support for the four-day march on Islamabad since the court ruling on 25 February. The Sharifs have blamed President Asif Ali Zardari for influencing the decision.
The protesters are also angry that judges sacked by former President Pervez Musharraf have not been reinstated. The government says the planned march is aimed at destabilising the country. Correspondents say it appears determined to keep protesters outside the capital, Islamabad.
The deteriorating political and economic situation and high-profile attacks by militants have heightened fears over Pakistan's future, just six months after President Zardari took office.
Into hidingInto hiding
The marchers plan to stage an indefinite sit-in later this week in Islamabad and there are fears that there may be violent confrontations. The marchers plan to stage an indefinite sit-in in Islamabad and there are fears there may be violent confrontations with security forces.
The government has issued orders to place senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders under house arrest, including party Chairman Raja Zafar-ul Haq, Information Secretary Ehsan Iqbal and President Ghulam Dastagir. There can be no reconcialiation till the judges are restored - no ban can prevent the revolution that is looming ahead Nawaz Sharif class="" href="/1/hi/world/south_asia/7914350.stm">Sharif ban adds to Pakistan turmoil The government has issued orders to place senior leaders of Mr Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) under house arrest. It is not clear whether there are also orders to place Mr Sharif and his brother Shahbaz under detention.
The PML-N insists that it is a democratic right to hold ralliesIt is not clear whether there are also orders to place PML-N head Nawaz Sharif and brother Shahbaz under detention. On Wednesday, Mr Sharif addressed a massive rally in the northern town of Abbotabad and urged Pakistanis to join the march to Islamabad.
The pair are scheduled to hold a rally in the northern town of Abbotabad later on Wednesday. "It is the duty of every Pakistani citizen to stand up for the restoration of the judiciary," he said.
Reports from several cities in the eastern province of Punjab say that the police have arrested a large number of opposition workers to maintain public order. "I am not doing this for the sake of personal power, but for the future of Pakistan. Mr Zardari has broken his word on the issue, and we have been left with no choice."
Raids have also been conducted on the residences of prominent lawyers and opposition legislators but most are reported to have gone into hiding to avoid arrest. Earlier, Mr Sharif's brother, Shahbaz, said: "If this [civilian] government bans political gatherings, then I don't see how it is different from the military regime of Gen Musharraf."
"We are avoiding arrest because we want to lead the march," a prominent lawyer, Aitezaz Ahsan, told local TV. The PML-N insists that it is a democratic right to hold rallies
"I have left my home and many of my colleagues have done the same," he said. He had to leave his post as chief minister of Punjab last month after the court decision declaring him ineligible to hold office.
There was no immediate reaction from the government on the wave of arrests and the imposition of the ban on gatherings.There was no immediate reaction from the government on the wave of arrests and the imposition of the ban on gatherings.
But lawyers and opposition groups said they would flout the ban and hold the gatherings because it was their "democratic right". Reports from several cities in Punjab province say that the police have arrested a large number of opposition workers to maintain public order.
"If this [civilian] government bans political gatherings, then I don't see how it is different from the military regime of Gen Musharraf," Shahbaz Sharif, the former chief minister of Punjab, told the media. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of another opposition leader, Imran Khan, the former Pakistan cricket captain.
He was deposed last month after the court decision declaring him ineligible to hold office. Raids have also been conducted on the residences of prominent lawyers and opposition legislators, but most are reported to have gone into hiding to avoid arrest.
The lawyers are campaigning for the restoration of a former chief justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Chaudhry. "We are avoiding arrest because we want to lead the march," a prominent lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, told a local television station.
He was sacked along with some 60 other judges of the superior judiciary by Gen Musharraf in November 2007, sparking countrywide protests. Ex-chief justice
Chief among the lawyers' demands is the restoration of a former chief justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Chaudhry.
He was sacked along with some 60 other senior judges by Gen Musharraf in November 2007, sparking countrywide protests.
Among other things, the judges had been due to rule on a controversial amnesty covering Mr Zardari and his wife Benazir Bhutto, who was later assassinated.
Mr Zardari has accused Iftikhar Chaudhry of complicity in a campaign to victimise him while imprisoned on what he says were trumped up murder and corruption charges in the 1990s and the early part of this decade.
Under Mr Zardari's administration, Pakistan is descending deeper into crisis, BBC correspondents say.
In the past the military, Pakistan's most powerful institution, has stepped in to seize power from failing governments.
The current army chief, Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, has said he will respect civilian rule.
Are you in Pakistan? Have you been affected by the restrictions on political gatherings and arrests? Are you planning to take part in the rallies?Are you in Pakistan? Have you been affected by the restrictions on political gatherings and arrests? Are you planning to take part in the rallies?
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