Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Pakistan bans protests on eve of "long march"
Wed Mar 11, 2009 2:41am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Kamran Haider
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Authorities in Pakistan's key Punjab province have banned protests and begun rounding up activists a day before a rally by lawyers that could challenge the year-old government, officials said on Wednesday.
Anti-government lawyers and opposition parties plan to launch a cross-country protest motor convoy, known as a long march, on Thursday.
"It has been done to maintain law and order, so from now there's a ban on all sorts of processions, protests and congregations for one month," senior Punjab interior department official, Farhan Aziz Khawaja, told Reuters.
The protesters vowed to press ahead with their plans peacefully. They are pushing for the reappointment of a former Supreme Court chief justice who then army chief and president Pervez Musharraf dismissed in 2007.
The lawyers, in league with opposition parties which can mobilize their supporters, pose a significant challenge to President Asif Ali Zardari, who has refused to reappoint the former chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry.
The protesters' convoy of cars and buses is due to set off on Thursday in the southern provinces of Sindh and Baluchistan and reach Punjab on Friday. They aim to begin a sit-in outside parliament in the capital, Islamabad, on Monday.
The protest is one more problem for a civilian government led by Zardari's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) that took power a year ago and is struggling with economic and security crises.
It comes as the country's two main parties are at loggerheads over a Supreme Court ruling last month that effectively barred former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, from contesting elections.
DEFIANT
Tariq Mehmud, a senior lawyer and protest organizer, said the ban on protests would not affect their plans.
"It seems the government is determined to stop the long march," Mehmud said.
"Our plan is in tact. Let's see what happens," he said.
Mehmud also said police had turned up at his home in Islamabad before dawn, apparently aiming to detain him, but he had managed to slip away.
Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, chairman of Sharif's party, said he had been put under house arrest at his Islamabad home.
"Police arrived at my home at 3 a.m. and I'm told I have been detained under the maintenance of public order law," he told Reuters by telephone. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Scotland Yard team in Bangladesh for mutiny probe
also on reuters
Slideshow
Slideshow: The power of coal and those who work it
IMF chief says bank cleanup moving too slowly
Video
Video: NeoMedia aims to save "old media"
More International News
China navy officers harangue U.S. over ocean spat
| Video
Obama condemns Khartoum for expelling aid groups
Suicide attack in west Baghdad kills up to 33
UK, Ireland vow to contain Northern Irish violence
| Video
Netanyahu ally says met Syrian officials in U.S.
More International News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
China navy officers harangue U.S. over ocean spat
U.S. museum finds "secret" message in Lincoln's watch
China navy officers harangue U.S. over ocean spat
U.S. intelligence candidate pulls out after objections
CORRECTED-Protesters target U.S. foreclosed-homes auctioneer
Vaunted Obama message machine is off-key
VIDEO: Deadly suicide blast in Sri Lanka
China says U.S. naval ship broke the law
U.S. "in a deep mess" but we will fix it: Geithner
Apple orders touchscreens for third quarter: source
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Zimbabwe mourns nation's ''mother''
Official: US China tensions mount
The Overstock economy
Democrats cool to Obama budget
Tibetan life 'hell on earth'
Gold outlook retains luster
NeoMedia aims to save 'old media'
All-at-once or step-by-step?
Citigroup ignites Wall Street
Wall Street roars on Citi
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Tibet
Dalai Lama slams China over Tibet "suffering"
The Dalai Lama said more and more Chinese were beginning to see a problem with Beijing's rule over Tibet, lamenting how the homeland he fled 50 years ago had become a "hell on earth." Full Article | Topics
Heavy security as Tibetans mark Dalai Lama's exile
China's Hu demands wall of stability in Tibet
Question marks over succession of Dalai Lama
Factbox: Historical ties between China and Tibet
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.