[Excerpt: The violence took place Friday the day before planned rallies celebrating the return of Pakistan People's Party leader Asif Ali Zardari, who had been visiting his wife, former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto in Dubai......At least 5,000 PPP workers, leaders and members of parliament were arrested across the country, according to police and PPP sources....Dozens of PPP activists suffered injuries when police charged them in front of Karachi Railway Station. Police were trying to stop PPP activists from boarding trains for Lahore.]
http://64.236.16.116/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/04/15/pakistan.rallies/index.html Thousands arrested in Pakistan Friday, April 15, 2005 Posted: 7:35 AM EDT (1135 GMT) Manage alerts | What is this? LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- Thousands of opposition party members have been arrested in Pakistan after clashing with the country's security forces. The violence took place Friday the day before planned rallies celebrating the return of Pakistan People's Party leader Asif Ali Zardari, who had been visiting his wife, former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto in Dubai. The government of President Pervez Musharraf has been adamant about curbing the political demonstrations set for Lahore. Last month in a series of rallies, tens of thousands of Pakistanis crammed the streets to express dissatisfaction with General Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999. Pakistan's Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told CNN the government would not allow the PPP to hold any rally or public gathering in the city, threatening them with legal action. At least 5,000 PPP workers, leaders and members of parliament were arrested across the country, according to police and PPP sources. Dozens of PPP activists suffered injuries when police charged them in front of Karachi Railway Station. Police were trying to stop PPP activists from boarding trains for Lahore. At least two journalists were listed in critical condition from injuries they suffered in the melee. Several trains bound for Lahore were canceled or stopped before they reached the city. Opposition parties Friday protested the violence and the arrests and walked out of the National Assembly. Authorities have sealed the borders of Sindh and Punjab provinces since Thursday night. Buses and other vehicles were not allowed to enter Punjab. All transportation into Lahore from other cities was suspended Friday, a day before Zardari's scheduled arrival. All PPP offices have been sealed and police contingents have been deployed in and around the Lahore airport. Punjab PPP President Qasim Zia told CNN the party had submitted a formal application to the government, seeking permission to hold a rally upon Zardari's arrival. He criticized the government's actions against the party and warned the government of serious consequences if it tried to scuttle Saturday's reception. CNN's Syed Mohsin Naqvi contributed to this report. enditem UNRESTRICTED ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose. A simple way to provide underprivileged children resources often lacking in public schools. Fund a student project in NYC/NC today! http://us.click.yahoo.com/EHLuJD/.WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
