Pakistani police arrested dozens of stone-throwing protesters outside the Supreme Court, amid a growing crackdown described by key ally the United States as "extremely disturbing".
Scores of flag-waving opposition demonstrators in Islamabad hurled stones at police who tried to stop them reaching the court and shouted slogans including “America’s friends are traitors” and “Go, Musharraf, go!” Police on horseback charged at the protesters to disperse them after a series of clashes.
Officers wearing helmets and carrying shields and batons dragged at least three dozen of them into vans.
Police arrested several Opposition leaders on Sunday, including Javed Hashmi, the acting chief of the party of exiled former premier Nawaz Sharif, and the head of a hardline Islamic party.
In the meantime, the US embassy in Islamabad issued a rare statement on Monday expressing “serious concern” about the detentions and calling for the release of all those arrested.
Musharraf counsel’s face blackened
A lawyer Monday blackened the face of President Pervez Musharraf’s main counsel outside the Supreme Court, IANS reports from Islamabad.
A lawyer named Muhammad Khurshid Khan sprayed black colour on Ahmed Raza Kasuri’s face as he stepped out of his chauffer driven car. The Supreme Court later asked Kasuri to submit a complaint.
