LAHORE/ISLAMABAD, 12 November 2007 — Supporters welcomed former Pakistani Premier Benazir Bhutto to the city of Lahore yesterday, ahead of a mass protest the Pakistan People’s Party chief is planning against President Pervez Musharraf’s emergency rule.
Waving party flags, hundreds of frenzied activists shouted “Benazir Prime Minister!” and “Long live Bhutto,” thrusting their arms in the air and making V for victory signs.
Benazir intends to lead a procession of vehicles to Islamabad tomorrow to demand Musharraf quits as army chief, ends the emergency rule he imposed a week ago, restores the constitution and frees thousands of detained lawyers and opponents.
Police have vowed to block the convoy, just as they stifled a planned protest rally in the city of Rawalpindi on Friday — when Benazir was held under house arrest for most of the day.
“I am here for democracy,” Benazir said on arrival at Lahore airport, where several hundred party activists and supporters managed to negotiate their way past barricades manned by police in riot vests wielding batons and shields.
Punjab province’s elite police unit, with “No Fear” printed on their tracksuits, stood guard. “Even if the Punjab government tries to create hurdles, we will go for our long march on Nov. 13,” she added, before getting into her white, bullet-proof Land Cruiser as supporters ran behind her waving banners and party flags.
Benazir described nuclear-armed Pakistan as a “pressure cooker” about to explode on Saturday. “She is a symbol of democracy,” said Mohammad Riaz Badar, a 74-year-old former songwriter who was wearing a party flag tied around his neck.
Police rounded up about 250 Benazir supporters in the southern city of Karachi to prevent protests.
The Pakistan People’s Party had planned a series of rallies in Karachi and other cities in Sindh province to galvanize opposition to President Musharraf’s state of emergency. Police official Mohammad Jehanzeb told AFP that at least 250 party workers had been picked up in Karachi.
Among them were its parliamentary leader Raza Rabbani and provincial chief Syed Qaim Ali Shah, PPP spokesman Jameel Soomro said.
Police sealed venues where the rallies were to be held and arrested those who turned up before they could assemble. “Our struggle will continue,” Raza Rabbani shouted before being shoved into a police van. Those arrested also included more than 20 women who were chanting slogans such as “Down with emergency rule” and “Prime Minister Benazir.” Soomro said police arrested another 500 PPP workers from across the Sindh province, but police confirmed only 100 such arrests.
