Supporters of opposition parties hold Bhutto’s picture

LAHORE, Pakistan, Sept 7 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Pakistani police Saturday, September 07, 2002, briefly detained leaders of five Islamic opposition parties, claiming they violated curbs on campaigning before next month's elections. The leaders dubbed the arrests “another blow to democracy”.

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

However, 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, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The 14 leaders 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.

"They have been booked for violating Section 144, under which no gathering of more than five people is allowed around railway stations," he said. 

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

Last month the military government relaxed a ban on most public political activities, in force since Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup in October 1999.

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.

The parties making up MMA are Jamaat-i-Islami, two factions of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, Ahle-Hadith and a Shiite party. One party leader did not attend the station gathering in Lahore.

"This is a fascist act by a dictator," said Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, speaking from a police station, AFP reported.

"We will continue to struggle for the restoration of democracy," said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, leader of Jamaat-i-Islami.

Hours later Rehman said police told the 14 they could go.

Asked if they would resume the "train march," he said the leaders "are considering other options because we have to maintain contact with our people."

The main challenge to pro-government parties will come from the 15-party Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD).

This includes the Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarian of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) of fellow former Premier Nawaz Sharif.

Bhutto was banned from standing while Sharif last month withdrew his candidacy in what he called an act of solidarity with his former rival.

ARD chief Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, commenting on Saturday's arrests, accused the government of "playing tricks with the nation and the world" in the name of restoring democracy.

"What kind of democracy do they want to restore when political parties are not allowed mass contact?" Khan told AFP.

On Friday, September 6, the leader of Pakistan's opposition alliance said it would launch its campaign for the October 10 parliamentary polls with a mass rally this month.

The ARD will hold the rally in the eastern city of Lahore on September 15, said Khan.

Khan said the decision to launch the campaign was taken late Thursday, September 5, at a meeting of leaders of all 15 alliance parties.

The alliance and the MMA vowed to fight to overturn constitutional amendments announced by Musharraf, which extend his term as President and army chief for five years and give him the power to sack parliament.

Musharraf also formalized a new National Security Council, headed by him and including the military top brass, to oversee the performance of elected governments.

Musharraf left for a week-long tour of the United States. He will take part in a ceremony in New York to mark the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks and will address the UN General Assembly.

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