Pakistani Opposition Rally Scuttled, Leaders Arrested

Police in the eastern city of Lahore rounded up dozens of leaders of the country’s main opposition party to block a rally Saturday demanding the ouster of Pakistan’s military ruler.

Tensions soared in the city near the border with India, as police erected barbed wire barricades and blocked all main roads leading to Mochi Gate garden, a massive park where the rally was scheduled to be held. Thousands were expected to attend, but police stopped the rally from taking place.

Police defended the arrests of members of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy, arguing that a protest would disrupt law and order in the country.

President Pervez Musharraf’s government has refused to permit large demonstrations since Jan. 12, when Pakistan began cracking down on Islamic extremists in an effort to cooperate with the United States in its war on terrorism.

Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup in October 1999, has been holding high-level meetings to muster support for a referendum reaffirming his rule. The ballot would be held sometime before parliamentary elections set for October.

There is precedent for such a referendum. Former military dictator Gen. Zia ul-Haq, who ruled Pakistan for 11 years before his death in a plane crash in 1988, held a referendum seeking to extend his mandate in 1984.

The Supreme Court two years ago ordered Musharraf to hold elections to restore a democratic government by October 2002. If he bypasses the election, Musharraf would have to amend the constitution, which requires that parliament choose a president.

Musharraf did not mention the referendum during an address to the nation over state-run Pakistan Television on Saturday.

Musharraf has said he will lift the ban on rallies at some point before the elections. Alliance leaders insist that the time has come.

“We will defy the ban on rallies,” said Misbaur Rehman, a local leader in Lahore. He was arrested later by police.

Those detained include the top leaders of the alliance, which includes the parties of former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted by Musharraf.

Meanwhile, in the city of Rawalpindi, just outside the capital, Islamabad, a key Islamic leader also pledged to defeat Pakistan’s secular government in the next elections.

Qazi Hussain Ahmed, a longtime supporter of Afghanistan’s former Taliban rulers, said he wants to bring Islamic revolution to Pakistan by forming an alliance with other religious parties.

“Musharraf should step down with honor,” he said. “Otherwise, the masses will oust him from power with force as he has handed over the country’s airports and other sensitive installations to the United States for operations against Islamic elements.”