| Page 3 of 3 < |
Pakistan Moves Against Opposition
Political activists arrested in Multan, Pakistan, were among hundreds detained the day after President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency.
(By Khalid Tanveer -- Associated Press)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
At the residence of former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, hundreds of security officers kept visitors away. Musharraf fired Chaudhry on Saturday, along with at least six other Supreme Court judges.
Of 17 judges on the bench, five agreed to take an oath to uphold Musharraf's new provisional constitution. The government pressured several others Sunday to sign the oath or lose their jobs, according to a Musharraf aide.
Near the Supreme Court, a small group gathered in hopes of starting a rally against Musharraf. But police ordered the crowd to disperse, citing a ban on public gatherings of more than three people in one place.
"We're in despair, and we don't know what to do," said Sofia Shakil, an Islamabad resident. "Just when things looked like they couldn't get any worse."
The mood in the western city of Peshawar, too, was grim. "As a Pakistani today, I'm feeling so down that I wish I could be a citizen of India, Bangladesh, or even Afghanistan," said Tariq Hussain, a pharmacist. "It's really shameful to meet with people of other countries and introduce yourself as a Pakistani because of our greedy rulers."
In Islamabad later in the afternoon Sunday, several dozen protesters attempted to march to Chaudhry's house, shouting, "We want democracy now!" But police blocked their path and began making arrests.
"We don't need martial law imposed on us," said Laila Ashraf, a protester. "We need to assert our rights."
Special correspondent Imtiaz Ali in Peshawar contributed to this report.
