 Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) President Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Secretary General Maulana Fazalur Rehman were put under house arrest in a crackdown in which 900 MMA activists were also put under ‘protective custody’ on Saturday. The Islamabad district administration had earlier reiterated that rallies in the city were banned “in the interest of public peace”, but the MMA had vowed to defy it and stage a demonstration today (Sunday).
 Geo television said that Qazi (detained at his residence in Mansoora, Lahore) and Fazl (detained at his official residence in Islamabad) were due to lead a rally in the capital against the blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Government officials told the MMA leaders that they had been detained to “control the law and order situation”, said the channel. The government has declared Qazi’s residence a sub-jail and restrained his movement from Mansoora till further orders, it added.
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MMA leader Fareed Piracha told Daily Times that the provincial government had detained 1,300 activists. Other MMA leaders were also arrested from Rawalpindi and police are reportedly pursuing the Shabab-e-Mili president. Dozens of other opposition leaders have also been arrested in the capital. |