Bhutto attempts breakout from house arrest

Islamabad: Pakistan's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on Friday attempted to break through a police cordon outside her home but was stopped by scores of riot police.

Police condoned off Bhutto's villa in Islamabad, put her under house arrest, and rounded up 5,000 of her supporters to block a mass protest against the emergency rule.

Bhutto tried to leave by car to address a rally in Rawalpindi, but was blocked by police after a scuffle with her supporters who tried to remove a barricade.

"We are trying to pass through because we want to reach Rawalpindi. There was a baton charge. There was a barbed wire," Bhutto told private Geo TV.

Kamal Shah, a top Interior Ministry official, said a district magistrate had served a "detention order" on Bhutto so she could not leave her home.

"If I'm arrested the People's Party of Pakistan workers will continue to fight for democracy and the rule of law," she told reporters via speakerphone.

In Rawalpindi, about 200 of Bhutto supporters were dispersed by police using tear and batons. Dozens were arrested.

In a second clash, about two dozen supporters burst out of an alley, shouting, "Long Live Bhutto!" Police, some on horseback, others banging their shields, chased them away.

Other supporters set a tire and garbage on fire. Police fired tear gas shells from an armoured personnel carrier, and the protesters pelted the police with stones.

In Peshawar, police used force to disperse about 300 supporters trying to reach Rawalpindi. About 25 were arrested.