Pakistani protesters to launch 'long march'
PAKISTAN: Pakistani lawyers and opposition parties vowed to go
ahead with a nationwide protest on Thursday, heading for a showdown with
the government which has banned rallies and detained hundreds of
activists.
The so-called "long march" to press for an independent judiciary
could destabilise the civilian government of President Asif Ali Zardari
at a time when Pakistan faces severe challenges from Taliban militants
and a sinking economy.
Protesters' convoys of cars and buses were to set off from the
southern provinces of Sindh and Baluchistan for Islamabad, despite a
crackdown in which 300 opposition party activists were detained.
"It's now a battle of nerves," Ali Ahmed Kurd, president of Supreme
Court bar association and a protest organiser, told Reuters. "They're
trying to make us scared by such tactics. "Let's see who wins this
battle."
The protesters were expected to converge on Islamabad on Monday to
demand the reinstatement of former Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar
Chaudhry, dismissed by president Pervez Musharraf in 2007.
The organisers plan a sit-in outside parliament, although the
government has said the rally will not be allowed in the city centre.
Zardari has refused to reinstate the judge. Analysts say he fears
Chaudhry could nullify an amnesty Musharraf granted Zardari and his late
wife Benazir Bhutto.
The United States called for restraint and urged all sides to avoid
violence and respect the rule of law, a U.S. embassy spokesman said.
Islamabad,Thursday, Reuters
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