Islamabad
11 March 2009
Pakistani police officers beat and arrest a supporter of opposition leader Nawaz Sharif in Multan, Pakistan, 11 Mar 2009 |
Prominent human rights activist Tahira Abdullah was arrested at her home in Islamabad.
"They came very early in the morning just after dawn," said Abdullah. "They came in a huge truck full of police men, plus two police women, plus a plain clothes intelligence agent and a magistrate. They did not serve me any papers. They rang the bell, but I did not open the door. They picked up a brick and started hammering down the kitchen door."
She eventually relented and agreed to go to the police station, where she says she was threatened with a 90-day jail sentence. After local media broadcast news of her detention, she was released.
Officials in Punjab and Sindh insist the crackdown is aimed at preventing violence at the rallies and thwarting terrorists who may target demonstrators for publicity. Punjab officials said more than 200 people in the province have been arrested.
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry waves as he appears at his residence to cheer supporters after his release in Islamabad, 24 Mar 2008 |
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has long championed Chaudhry's reinstatement, but he stepped up his campaign late last month after the current supreme court, largely seen as sympathetic to Mr. Zardari, banned Sharif and his brother from holding elected office.
Nawaz Sharif (file photo) |
Sharif dismissed the warning in a demonstration outside Islamabad and urged his supporters to converge on the capital next week.
He says they are threatening me with treason, but he says that is ridiculous because they themselves are rebels who are destroying the country with their policies.
Pakistan's government is struggling to contain worsening violence by al-Qaida and the Taliban and is trying to revive its deteriorating economy.
Meanwhile, gunmen in Peshawar targeted a senior politician of the Awami National Party. Bashir Bilour survived the attack Wednesday, but several people were reported killed.