Pakistani opposition leader Sharif to join protests (2nd Lead)

Mar 15, 2009, 10:20 GMT

Islamabad - Pakistan's top opposition leader Nawaz Sharif Sunday, in apparent defiance of his alleged house arrest, broke through multiple cordons, and was on his way to join thousands of supporters protesting for the reinstatement of judges in the eastern city of Lahore.

A spokesman for Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party on Sunday said the former prime minister was being confined to his residence in an attempt to prevent him from leading a so-called long march from Lahore to Islamabad for a sit-in scheduled to begin on Monday.

'Hundreds of policemen have surrounded the residence. It is very unfortunate, undemocratic. But this will not defeat our determination,' spokesman Ahsan Iqbal told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa by phone.

A top official from the Interior Ministry, Rehman Malik, told British broadcaster BBC that Sharif had not been placed under house arrest and was free to move around.

'Come and join me. I am leaving the house. The time has come to march hand-in-hand,' Sharif told a charged crowd before leaving in a dark green armoured Land Cruiser as his supporters removed the road blocks.

'We don't accept this house arrest. This house arrest is illegal and immoral,' he added.

   Iqbal said Sharif was confined to his home for three days along with his nephew, also a member of parliament, and dozens of supporters.

Sharif publicly supported a campaign spearheaded by defiant lawyers seeking reinstatement of judges, including former Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, who had been removed by ex-president Pervez Musharraf.

Thousands of Sharif's supporters and lawyers gathered in the heart of Lahore for the protest demonstrations despite a government ban on public gathering and a massive deployment of law-enforcement personnel.

They chanted slogans against the government of President Asif Ali Zardari, including 'Death to Zardari,' 'Zardari is a dog' and 'Restore the judges.'

Police used hundreds of tear gas canisters and batons to disperse the crowd which pelted the security personnel with stones. Clashes continued for hours.

According to some media reports several people were injuring, including some policemen. Police also arrested a leader of the lawyers' group, Aitzaz Ahsan.

Ahsan called his detention illegal, and said arrests would not deter protesters from marching to Islamabad.

More than 1,000 activists are already in police custody amid a country-wide crackdown on opposition groups to ward off the Islamabad rally.

Principal roads in nearly all main towns along the planned route were blocked using shipping containers, lorries and concrete barriers. The government also blocked text service on mobile phones and transmissions of television news channel in several cities.

'For how long can Islamabad be sealed? The day the siege is lifted, millions of people would come out on the Constitution Avenue,' Ahsan said, referring to the boulevard where the sit-in was to be staged against Zardari's government.

The political turmoil has raised concerns in Washington and other Western capitals which want Zardari and Sharif to end their feud and join efforts against Islamic extremism.

Developments Sunday came a day after Zardari's government announced some concessions for the opposition leader.

A presidential spokesman said late Friday the government would appeal a controversial court ruling that barred Sharif from elected office, and pledged to resolve the issue of reinstatement of judges sacked by Musharraf.

But the opposition groups said only concrete actions would satisfy them, not merely announcements of good intentions.