Pak arrests lawyers, rights activists ahead of planned protest

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, Mar 11 (PTI) Hundreds of lawyers, rights
activists and political workers were arrested in an overnight
crackdown in the Pakistani capital and Punjab province ahead
of a countrywide protest to press the government to reinstate
judges who were sacked during the 2007 emergency.

Police and plainclothes personnel from intelligence
agencies launched the crackdown late last night after the
lawyers' movement and the main opposition PML-N said they were
determined to go ahead with a "long march" to the federal
capital on March 12.

Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has gone into
hiding after security personnel raided his house here as part
of the crackdown.

Sources in Khan's party Tehrik-e-Insaf said he had
gone underground following raid on his house last night.

They said Khan is fully determined to be part of long
protest march by the lawyers on March 12.

The organisers of the protest have said it will
culminate with a sit-in near parliament on March 16 but
interior ministry chief Rehman Malik has warned them to stay
away from Islamabad, saying the government will take firm
steps to prevent any breakdown of the law and order situation.

The Jamaat-e-Islami said 25 of its activists were
arrested at Raiwind in Lahore while Imran Khan's
Tehrik-e-Insaf party said 12 activists were detained in the
eastern city.

Media reports said security personnel picked up
hundreds of lawyers, rights activists and workers of different
opposition parties from across the politically crucial
Punjab province, which is currently under Governor’s Rule.

There was no official word on the arrests.

The administration in Punjab also imposed
prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Pakistan Penal
Code, banning protests and gatherings. Officials said rallies
and protests had been banned across the province and the army
would be called in to maintain order if necessary.

Leading rights activist Tahirah Abdullah told
reporters she was arrested last night by security personnel
who broke down the door of her house in Islamabad.

She said she was held under the Maintenance of
Public Order ordinance, which allows authorities to detain a
person without charges for 90 days.

Abdullah, who was released this morning, said the
officials who detained her did not have a warrant or any other
official document.

Qahsan Iqbal, a dissident leader of the ruling
Pakistan People’s Party and a key player in the lawyers’
movement, went into hiding before plainclothes personnel
raided his home.

Speaking to a TV channel, he said the government’s
actions could not crush the lawyers' movement. The lawyers, he
said, were determined to go ahead with the long march.

Athar Minallah, another prominent leader of the
lawyers' movement, said the homes and offices of hundreds of
lawyers had been raided since last night.

He said it was unfortunate the government had launched
a crackdown though the lawyers had always struggled in a
peaceful manner and never resorted to violence despite facing
many atrocities.

The PML-N threw its weight behind the lawyers'
movement after the Supreme Court last month barred top party
leaders Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif from contesting polls and
hold elected office. President Asif Ali Zardari imposed
Governor's Rule in Punjab following the apex court's verdict.

Former premier Nawaz Sharif has urged the
people to rise in a rebellion against the government. Interior
ministry chief Malik said his comments amounted to sedition
and could be punished with life imprisonment.

Former Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif
has vowed to defy the government’s restrictions and join the
long march.

He said the protestors are determined to "reach
Islamabad, come what may". He also appealed to police and
other officials to disobey the government’s orders to prevent
the protest. PTI RHL
SAK