Pakistani police clashed with hundreds of lawyers protesting in cities across the country Monday against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency.
Police officers arrest a lawyer who was protesting Monday in Peshawar, Pakistan, against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency.
(Mohammad Zubair/Associated Press) Between 1,500 and 1,800 people have been detained across the country since Saturday, including opposition leaders, lawyers and human rights activists.
With private television stations taken off the air and new rules on media coverage, it has been difficult for media outlets to get reliable information, said the CBC's Adrienne Arsenault, reporting from Islamabad.
The restrictions are part of the emergency measures put into place by Musharraf when he suspended the constitution and proclaimed a state of emergency in what he described as an attempt to curb extremism.
At the largest demonstration, about 2,000 lawyers at High Court in the eastern city of Lahore staged a rally despite police warnings not to violate a ban on demonstrations.
Hundreds of officers stormed inside to try to disperse the crowd with tear gas and batons. Lawyers threw rocks and beat police with tree branches while shouting anti-Musharraf slogans.
Sarfraz Cheema, a senior lawyer at the rally, condemned the police action.
"This police brutality against peaceful lawyers shows how the government of a dictator wants to silence those who are against dictatorship," he said. "We don't accept the proclamation of emergency."
On Sunday, Musharraf's government said parliamentary elections scheduled for January could be delayed up to a year.
Several countries, including Canada and the U.S., have criticized the president's declaration of an emergency.
Full story
Do you have relatives in Pakistan. If so what are they telling you about what's going on in the streets. What do you think will happen next in the country? Can Musharraf hang on to power? How will this affect our mission in Afghanistan?
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(Mohammad Zubair/Associated Press)
With private television stations taken off the air and new rules on media coverage, it has been difficult for media outlets to get reliable information, said the CBC's Adrienne Arsenault, reporting from Islamabad.
The restrictions are part of the emergency measures put into place by Musharraf when he suspended the constitution and proclaimed a state of emergency in what he described as an attempt to curb extremism.
At the largest demonstration, about 2,000 lawyers at High Court in the eastern city of Lahore staged a rally despite police warnings not to violate a ban on demonstrations.
Hundreds of officers stormed inside to try to disperse the crowd with tear gas and batons. Lawyers threw rocks and beat police with tree branches while shouting anti-Musharraf slogans.
Sarfraz Cheema, a senior lawyer at the rally, condemned the police action.
"This police brutality against peaceful lawyers shows how the government of a dictator wants to silence those who are against dictatorship," he said. "We don't accept the proclamation of emergency."
On Sunday, Musharraf's government said parliamentary elections scheduled for January could be delayed up to a year.
Several countries, including Canada and the U.S., have criticized the president's declaration of an emergency.
Full story
Do you have relatives in Pakistan. If so what are they telling you about what's going on in the streets. What do you think will happen next in the country? Can Musharraf hang on to power? How will this affect our mission in Afghanistan?
More...
