Police start arresting pro-Sharif activists

Islamabad: Police have started arresting activists of Pakistan Muslim League-N in Punjab province a week before former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's return to the country, a party spokesman yesterday.

"We have received reports of police raids and arrests of workers and local leaders at various places in the province," the spokesman, Siddique-ul-Farooq said.

He said details about the round-up of party workers were being collected, while a private television channel reported that around 45 PML-N activities had been arrested.

Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz, former chief minister of Punjab, are to land at Islamabad international airport on September 10. The will travel on to Lahore, capital of Punjab province, by road after their arrival.

Negotiations

Meanwhile, government sources said another round of negotiations between President Pervez Musharraf's top aide Tariq Aziz and Pakistan People's Party leader and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto were underway in Dubai.

The meeting came after last week's hectic talks between the two camps in London failed to produce an expected power-sharing deal between Musharraf and the PPP leader.

Aziz, secretary general of civilian-military National Security Council, had led the London negotiations from the Musharraf camp, which were also attended by Inter Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Ashfaq Kiani and the presidential chief of staff Lt Gen (retd) Hamid Javed.

Lawyers to rally against Musharraf

Tens of thousands of lawyers in Pakistan will launch a new campaign this week to oppose President Pervez Musharraf's planned bid for re-election by the outgoing assemblies, a bar leader said yesterday.

Munir A. Malek, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association said the campaign would start on Thursday with meetings and rallies by lawyers at different places in the country.