Pakistan police clash with lawyers, blockade courts

Islamabad: Hundreds of police firing tear gas and swinging batons clashed with lawyers Monday while security forces across Pakistan blockaded courts to quash protests against President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency.

In the biggest gathering, about 2,000 lawyers congregated at the High Court in the eastern city of Lahore. As lawyers tried to exit onto a main road to stage a rally, in defiance of a police warnings not to violate a ban on demonstrations, hundreds of officers stormed inside.

Police fired swung batons and fired tear gas shells to disperse the lawyers, who responded by throwing stones and beating police with tree branches. The protesters shouted, "Go Musharraf Go!"

Police bundled lawyers into waiting vans. At least two were bleeding from the head.

"The lawyers initiated trouble by throwing stones at police, and it forced us to take action against them," said Aftab Cheema, the city police chief.

Declaring an emergency on Saturday, General Musharraf cited spiralling militancy and hostile judges to justify his action and imposed reporting curbs on the media in a bid to stop outrage spilling onto the streets.

"Police beat lawyers with batons as they came to High Court in the morning. Many of them have been arrested," Akhtar Hussain, a former president of Sindh High Court Bar Association, told Reuters.

Despite the detentions, a lawyers' movement that led the fight against Musharraf when he tried to sack the country's top judge earlier this year, was planning protests in front of courts in most major cities.

Lawyers, journalists, opposition politicians, and ordinary Pakistanis said they believed Musharraf's main motive in declaring emergency rule was to pre-empt the Supreme Court invalidating his re-election as president last month.

My family is in Karachi. Except for television channel blockage, everything is fine. The average people do not seem to be so concerned by these power plays.
Syed
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 05, 2007, 14:06

My family members are very much comfortable in Pakistan. The country needs Musharraf and his decision to impose a state of emergency is right.
Hassan
Ajman,UAE
Posted: November 05, 2007, 11:46