Peace and Justice Post

AFP, Friday, November 9

ISLAMABAD (AFP) – – Pakistan’s former premier Benazir Bhutto was to be put under house arrest Friday, hours before she was due to lead a rally against a state of emergency, government officials said.

“She is being placed under house arrest,” a senior government offcial told AFP on condition of anonymity.An AFP correspondent saw a magistrate entering her house in Islamabad, apparently with the arrest order, while dozens of police cordoned off the street outside.

To stop the rally the government deployed 6,000 police officers in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, completely sealing off the planned venue in the garrison city with barbed wire and concrete blocks.

The stand-off comes a day after Musharraf said that he would hold elections by February 15, a month later than scheduled, in a bid to fend off criticism from Western allies and domestic opponents.

“Under no circumstances will the rally be allowed. The law will take its course against anyone who defies it,” Rawalpindi police chief Saud Aziz told AFP.

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