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LAHORE,Friday (AFP) Police swooped on opposition MPs in Pakistan's eastern city Lahore for a third day running in a crisis that threatens to embroil the federal parliament ahead of next week's budget.

A dozen provincial lawmakers from the politically important Punjab assembly were detained when they tried to enter the parliamentary building in defiance of a ban slapped on them by the ruling party speaker, the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP) said.

The PPP's Qasim Zia, leader of the opposition, was among those bundled by police into an unmarked land cruiser car and driven to an an unknown place, witnesses said. Several police vans accompanied the vehicle transporting the MPs.

The MPs were released after spending several hours in police detention. Hundreds of policemen had earlier thronged the assembly building as opposition supporters including women workers chanted slogans against the government.

Police have been arresting scores of opposition MPs for several hours a day since Tuesday following an order from speaker Afzal Sahi of the army-backed party Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) to bar their entry to the chamber.

Opposition leaders later called for nationwide rallies to condemn the government action.

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