ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Pakistani police used batons and fired tear gas in a clash with protesters who hurled rocks and bricks at them in the capital Islamabad on Monday, AFP journalists on the scene said.
It was the first public clash with security forces since President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday lifted an unpopular state of emergency which he imposed amid months of political turmoil.
Around 200 people were trying to make their way to the residence of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who is under house arrest, but were blocked by police.
Police said 14 officers were hurt in the melee, while an AFP reporter said at least one local journalist was taken to hospital after being beaten with a baton. The clash lasted about 45 minutes.
“They started pelting the police with stones and tried to force their way through. The police responded with tear gas and baton charges to disperse them,” Kaleem Imam, a senior Islamabad police official, told AFP.
He said some of the injured police had been hit by rocks and that 21 people had been arrested.
An AFP journalist said it appeared that students had started the clash by hitting police with sticks.
The protesters – including lawyers, students and rights activists – chanted slogans against Musharraf, who suspended Chaudhry in March, sparking months of political chaos.
Chaudhry has since been sacked and is under house arrest. But he has become a pro-democracy icon for opponents of the president.
“Go, Musharraf! Go!” the protesters chanted – using what has become a regular slogan in demonstrations against the 64-year-old leader.
Dozens of judges were sacked under the six-week state of emergency, and the president has vowed that they will not be given back their jobs.
Musharraf said he imposed the emergency because of a wave of Islamist violence as well as what he said was a conspiracy, helped in part by the judiciary, to derail democracy in the country.
Critics charge the real reason was to purge anti-Musharraf judges who might have been willing to consider legal challenges to his October re-election as president.
But rights activist and professor Farzana Bari told AFP that it had been a peaceful protest marred by the “brutality” of the police.
“We just wanted to go to the house of Iftikhar Chaudhry to express our solidarity with him, but police started beating us without any warning,” said Bari, speaking by telephone from police custody.
“We will continue our struggle for the independence of the judiciary. We want Musharraf to reinstate the judges he sacked,” she said.
Twin cities’ journalists continue protest
ISLAMABAD: The journalists of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad continued their protest on Sunday for the removal of ban on media and restoration of all deposed judges.
They staged a sit-in outside the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Press Club camp office and raised anti-government slogans.
The protesting journalists said that the lifting of emergency rule was pointless unless true democracy and press freedom was restored. They vowed to continue their protest on Eid days as well.
They termed imposition of emergency rule unjustified and condemned the arrest of members of the civil society, political workers and media persons. They also criticised the government for the ban imposed on a private TV channel. staff report
I can't believe It! No one cares to explain on this very issue from the pro-Mush camp.
I would like to invite some Mushy supporters to this thread to provide us with some reasonable arguementation on why these protestators are beaten up by the police.
I see no radicals and terrorists here.
I can't believe It! No one cares to explain on this very issue from the pro-Mush camp.
I would like to invite some Mushy supporters to this thread to provide us with some reasonable arguementation on why these protestators are beaten up by the police.
I see no radicals and terrorists here.
This one famous poet called such people, 'be-hiss gadhey'... They will continue to watch and support the tamasha while those that show some characters are beaten up, and tortured.
Try to cross yellow ribbon of “Police- Do not cross this” sometime in USA or Europe and see what police do with you. Access to CJ’s residence has been RESTRICTED (rightly or wrongly thats another discussion) so why were these protesters trying to force their way to CJ’s residence? They did not know thats its a restricted area? Were they thinking that police officials will throw rose petals on them?
Try to cross yellow ribbon of "Police- Do not cross this" sometime in USA or Europe and see what police do with you. Access to CJ's residence has been RESTRICTED (rightly or wrongly thats another discussion) so why were these protesters trying to force their way to CJ's residence? They did not know thats its a restricted area? Were they thinking that police officials will throw rose petals on them?
Oh come on, decent. Where do you see yellow ribbons?
Have you noticed that this report is about the 200 Pakistanis, who tried to gain some access to CJ property? Why is his house to be restricted? We have no more emergency. He has no right to keep Pakistanis hostage. All these questions are related to this discussion and can be utilized to force a dialogue between pro and anti mush.
Try to cross yellow ribbon of "Police- Do not cross this" sometime in USA or Europe and see what police do with you. Access to CJ's residence has been RESTRICTED (rightly or wrongly thats another discussion) so why were these protesters trying to force their way to CJ's residence? They did not know thats its a restricted area? Were they thinking that police officials will throw rose petals on them?
Stop lying, they were going to his house, not trying to enter it, read the article again!
I can't believe It! No one cares to explain on this very issue from the pro-Mush camp.
I would like to invite some Mushy supporters to this thread to provide us with some reasonable arguementation on why these protestators are beaten up by the police.
I see no radicals and terrorists here.
They will say these people are just anti Pakistan and trying to cause trOuble... Not worth inviting them..
Try to cross yellow ribbon of "Police- Do not cross this" sometime in USA or Europe and see what police do with you. Access to CJ's residence has been RESTRICTED (rightly or wrongly thats another discussion) so why were these protesters trying to force their way to CJ's residence? They did not know thats its a restricted area? Were they thinking that police officials will throw rose petals on them?
There is no emergency, why is the House of the Chief Justice's of limits? Has he commited a crime? Is he a criminal?
CJP protesters beaten, 30 held
ISLAMABAD: Thirty people were injured on Monday in clashes between the police and participants of a rally demanding the restoration of the deposed superior court judges and an end to curbs on media. The participants of the rally tried to enter the Judges Enclave to express solidarity with the sacked judges, but upon being stopped by police, pelted them with bricks and stones. In retaliation, the police resorted to teargas shelling and baton-charge, injuring dozens of protesters. Police also arrested 30 people and shifted them to Secretariat police station. Later, people protesting outside the police station against the brutal government action were baton-charged by the police. fazal sher
Lawyers’ protest spills onto roads
RAWALPINDI: Around 500 lawyers held a peaceful demonstration at Katcheri Chowk to demand the reinstatement of the sacked judiciary. Police encircled the venue and the protest broke up peacefully upon a request by City Police Officer (CPO) Saud Aziz. During the state of emergency, the lawyers were forced to protest within court boundaries by the police. Now that the emergency has been lifted, the lawyers managed to rally outside the court. Lawyer Shahbaz Ahmed Rajput said the lawyers were entitled to hold demonstrations similar to those of political parties during the days of elections. He said the government should remove the police from the courts. Separately, about 30 female lawyers sat in a hunger strike camp that was led by Anjuman Ara. According to Rawalpindi District Bar Association (RDBA) instructions, they boycotted the courts for three hours. Earlier, the RDBA general body passed a resolution against the “implementation of American agenda in Pakistan”. They said America wanted access to national installations and Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan. “The Americans are saying that they have a right to invade Pakistan’s Tribal Areas to arrest Osama Bin Laden, which is wrong,” said the resolution. The RDBA vowed to continue its struggle and eradicate all barriers in its path. They said the RDBA was an inspiration for their colleagues all over the country. They demanded release of all detained lawyers. They also condemned the harassment of journalists and lawyers by government agencies. staff report
