The Hindu : Front Page : Benazir calls for mass protests

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 08, 2007
ePaper

Front Page

Front Page

Benazir calls for mass protests

Let’s not fail to raise our voice, says Imran Khan

— Photo: AP

Strong opposition: The former Pakistan Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, at an Opposition alliance meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday.

ISLAMABAD: The former Pakistan Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, Wednesday urged the people to hold mass protests against the Emergency declared by President Pervez Musharraf, setting up a showdown with the military ruler.

Ms. Bhutto vowed to hold a rally in the garrison town of Rawalpindi on Friday despite police threats of a crackdown. She called for a “long march” on November 13 from Lahore to the capital if Musharraf does not climb down.

Police tear-gassed and baton-charged hundreds of Bhutto supporters outside the Parliament building here. “I appeal to the people of Pakistan to come forward. We are under attack,” she told a news conference after holding talks with Opposition leaders.

Gen. Musharraf must restore the Constitution, announce the date of elections and quit his role as the Army Chief soon, she told the media after meeting Opposition leaders.

“God willing, there will be a flood of people. If I am arrested, people should continue the struggle,” she added.

Nearly 1,000 people rallied peacefully in the Capital earlier and another 200 protested in Peshawar.

Calls for a return to democracy mounted with Britain urging Gen. Musharraf to set a date for elections. The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group is set to meet on November 12 to discuss the situation.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said the Emergency was “temporary” and aimed at restoring internal harmony. The international community needed to show understanding for a difficult decision to address an extraordinary situation.

The elections will be held as per a schedule to be announced soon though there may be “some delay”, Minister of State for Information Tariq Azeem told a TV channel.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told MPs of the Pakistan Muslim League that the date for the elections would be decided by November 14. Gen. Musharraf told them that he wanted the “deviation from the election schedule to be kept as little as possible.”

Approved

Parliament on Wednesday unanimously approved the Emergency.

A PTI report from London said that cricketer-turned- politician Imran Khan, who has gone underground, has appealed to his countrymen to protest against the regime.

Mr. Khan issued the call in a video released to the media from an undisclosed destination.

“If we don’t resist and we don’t raise our voice against [the Emergency], it will take us on the path to destruction.”

A Washington report said that sacked Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry dubbed Gen. Musharraf a “dictator”, in an interview to CNN.

He urged the international community to put pressure on the General to lift the Emergency. — Agencies

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page