Pakistan arrests opposition leader Nawaz Sharif

[villager]

Source: AP

Pakistan arrests opposition leader Nawaz Sharif


By ZARAR KHAN

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani authorities placed opposition leader Nawaz Sharif under house arrest Sunday to stop him from taking part in a major anti-government rally, a spokesman said.

The move against former Prime Minister Sharif shows Pakistan's determination to squelch Monday's rally in the capital Islamabad but risks igniting anger among his supporters. It will also likely damage the democratic credentials of the one-year-old government led by U.S.-backed President Asif Ali Zardari.

The arrest order came hours after the government announced its first major concession in the monthlong political crisis by pledging to appeal a disputed court ruling against Sharif and his brother.

Sharif's spokesman Pervez Rasheed said hundreds of police surrounded his house Sunday in the eastern city of Lahore.

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Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090315/ap_on_re_as/as_paki...

[Adsos Letter]

1. I certainly hopes this ends well...

...but I have my doubts...

[villager]

7. whether Pakistan itself well "end well" is a very open question...

...at best...

[nyy1998]

2. While not a fan of Sharif

It seems like Pakistan cares more about being tougher on their opposition leaders then on the Taliban.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Pakistan ex-PM ignores 'arrest'

Describing the order - denied by the government - as "illegal" he left his Lahore home urging people to join him.

Riot police surrounded the former prime minister's home in the early hours before blocking all access roads.

Police fired tear gas at the stone-throwing protesters who plan to march to Islamabad to demand judges sacked by the former government be reinstated.

Mr Sharif got into a car to head for the rally in central Lahore, but our Islamabad correspondent Barbara Plett says it is not clear if he will be allowed to travel there.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7944527.stm

[cosmicone]

4. We need to stop pretending

Pakistan has never ever been a democracy. It is basically run by the military and ISI, both of whom maintain control utilizing brute force and a sophisticated terror apparatus. The elected leaders have always been puppets and never had any real power.

[ohio2007]

5. The mayor of Islamabad has spoken nt

[closeupready]

6. Yup.