PAKISTAN: Security is tight in the Pakistani capital as crackdown continues

Barricades blocked roads leading to key government offices in Islamabad on Monday (November 5), as Pakistani authorities kept a tight grip on security following President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule during the weekend. General Musharraf cited spiralling militancy and hostile judges to justify his action on Saturday (November 3), and imposed reporting curbs on the media in a bid to stop outrage spilling onto the streets amid Pakistan's biggest crisis since he took power in a 1999 coup. Police detained dozens of lawyers in the eastern city of Lahore. Police were also holding several judges incommunicado at their homes after they refused to back emergency rule. The arrests came after a main Islamist opposition party, Jamaat-e-Islami, said authorities detained 600-700 of its supporters in southern and central provinces overnight. Authorities had already arrested 400-500 political opponents and opposition lawyers as a "preventive" measure. Among them was Iftikhar Chaudhry, who became a symbol of resistance to Musharraf's rule after defying pressure to quit last March and was subsequently reinstated as chief justice by the Supreme Court. Musharraf also suspended the constitution. Lawyers, journalists, opposition politicians and ordinary Pakistanis said they believed Musharraf's main motive in declaring emergency rule was to pre-empt the Supreme Court invalidating his re-election as president last month. The court was due to reconvene on Monday to determine Musharraf's right to have stood for re-election while still army chief. But most judges, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, have been sacked. He has been replaced by a Musharraf loyalist. Pakistan shares were down around 3 percent, compounding losses incurred last week as talk of impending emergency rule swirled, while credit default swaps eased and analysts said the uncertainty would put bonds under pressure.

ITN Source | November 5, 2007

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