 ISLAMABAD - Former premier Benazir Bhutto on Wednesday urged Pakistanis to join mass protests against a state of emergency, setting up a tense showdown with military ruler President Pervez Musharraf. Bhutto said she would hold a rally in Rawalpindi on Friday despite police threats of a crackdown, and called for a “long march” on November 13 from Lahore to the capital if Musharraf does not repeal emergency rule.
| Things aren't looking good for ya, Perv. Perhaps you should consider a nice villa on the Red Sea? Lovely this time of year. I think you have friends who could help with expenses ... |
Police tear-gassed and baton-charged hundreds of Bhutto’s supporters outside the parliament building in Islamabad shortly after she spoke, an AFP reporter witnessed. At least three were arrested. “I appeal to the people of Pakistan to come forward. We are under attack,” Bhutto told a news conference after holding talks with other opposition leaders in Islamabad.
The two-time premier said that key US ally Musharraf must restore the constitution, announce the date of parliamentary elections due in January and quit his role as chief of the powerful army by November 15. “God willing, there will be a flood of people. If I am arrested, people should continue the struggle,” the 54-year-old added.
| I think she's trying to have a Yeltsin moment. |
Nearly 1,000 people rallied peacefully in the capital earlier and another 200 protested in Peshawar. She rejected a warning by the police chief in Rawalpindi that her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) would not be allowed to stage its rally there, due to a ban on such gatherings and because of a risk of suicide bombings. “If they try to flout the ban, the law would take its course,” the garrison city’s police chief Saud Aziz told AFP.
| And then you did nothing about it. I'm betting the police won't fire on Bhutto supporters. And that means, eventually, that Perv is toast. |
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