Bhutto Under House Arrest

Crackdown comes hours before she was to lead Pakistan march against Musharraf
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 8, 2007 11:19 PM CST
Bhutto Under House Arrest
Pakistans former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto gestures during a press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007. Bhutto denounced a pledge from Pakistan's military president Thursday to hold elections by mid-February as insufficient and said he should step down as army chief within...   (Associated Press)

Police surrounded the home of Benazir Bhutto today hours before she planned to lead a massive anti-government march. "She is being placed under house arrest," a senior government official told Agence France Presse as soldiers surrounded her house with barbed wire.  Bhutto had intended to lead a march to protest President  Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule and suspension of the constitution.

"We will not allow any leader to carry out any rally," said an official. Police rounded up some 5,000 Bhutto supporters in recent days before setting up camp in riot gear around her house. "She's not going anywhere," said one officer. The police presence proves that the government "is scared of Benazir Bhutto's popularity," said an aide. (More Benazir Bhutto stories.)

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