ISLAMABAD, 26 September 2007 — Pakistan yesterday rejected an unusually harsh rebuke by the United States for arresting dozens of activists who oppose the re-election of President Pervez Musharraf.
The US Embassy in Islamabad issued a rare statement the previous day branding the detentions as “extremely disturbing and confusing for the friends of Pakistan” and urging the government to free the detained men.
Pakistan’s Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azeem however said that the arrested activists were threatening key institutions and had been taken into “protective custody.”
“The United States normally understands our internal situation better than others because it is a very close ally. I am sure it realizes that democratic society needs the rule of law and not rule by the mob,” Azeem told AFP.
“No government can allow mobs to attack the Supreme Court building and intimidate judges, especially when the top court is hearing important constitutional petitions,” he said.
“No government can allow mobs to besiege the election commission during the filing of nomination papers and disturb the democratic process.” Pakistani police rounded up dozens of opposition supporters in Islamabad on Monday after breaking up a protest outside the Supreme Court against Musharraf’s bid to be re-elected.
The court is hearing opposition petitions against Musharraf’s eligibility to stand in the presidential election due on Oct. 6.
