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Multan, Sunday (AFP)

Pakistani police briefly detained leaders of five Islamic opposition parties, saying they violated curbs on campaigning before next month's elections.

The 14 central and provincial leaders of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) - an alliance of six religious parties - were released later Saturday without charge.

But party chiefs described the arrests as another blow to democracy before the October 10 parliamentary elections, which will be the first since army chief Pervez Musharraf seized power in October 1999. The 14 were detained at the railway station in the eastern city of Lahore after they violated a ban on political gatherings at stations, city police chief Javed Noor told AFP.

Police arrested them as they arrived to board a train for an 800-kilometre (500-mile) campaign journey to Sukkur in southern Sindh province.

Officials last month relaxed a ban on most public political activities but rallies and processions still need permission. Campaign rail journeys known as "train marches" are legal but rallies at stations are banned.

Police detained leaders of five parties - Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Allama Sajid Naqvi and Maulana Samiul Haq - plus nine provincial leaders and 16 workers.

At Multan and Khanewal elsewhere in Punjab province, police blocked roads to the stations to stop MMA supporters from hearing speeches by party leaders.

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