|
Police fire rubber bullets, arrest Pak protesters
Pakistan riot police fired rubber bullets at protesters yesterday and arrested dozens of people as they tried to contain an angry protest over the sacking of the nation's top judge. Hundreds of demonstrators hurled rocks and bottles at paramilitary troops and police outside the Supreme Court, where Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was due to attend a hearing into misconduct charges. Violent clashes also broke out in the eastern city of Lahore despite overnight raids by police across the country that seized lawyers, opposition party activists and Muslim hardliners. Military ruler President Pervez Musharraf drew international condemnation when he sacked Chaudhry last week, a move that also set off days of rallies and intensified Islamist and secular opposition anger over his leadership. The opposition says Musharraf is trying to intimidate the judiciary before they hear key issues -- including his planned re-election by parliament and his dual role as president and army chief -- later this year. Posted by: Fred 2007-03-17 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=183268 |