Musharraf to Bhutto: Stay Put

Ex-PM's 'long march,' set for tomorrow, will test emergency rule
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 12, 2007 2:41 PM CST
Musharraf to Bhutto: Stay Put
Police arrest a protester, left, in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Nov. 12, 2007. Bhutto and other opposition members have threatened to boycott upcoming parliamentary elections unless the restrictions imposed by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf come to and end and he resigns as army chief. Musharraf said...   (Associated Press)

The Pakistani government today rejected Benazir Bhutto's plan to lead a "long march" from Lahore to Islamabad starting tomorrow, Reuters reports. "Rallies and protests are banned, they are not allowed," said the information minister. Bhutto has vowed to proceed with the protest of Pervez Musharraf's emergency rule even if police intervene; CNN reported this afternoon that the ex-PM was again under house arrest.

The looming confrontation will seriously test Musharraf and Bhutto's murky relationship as "adversarial allies." Hundreds of police have massed around the Lahore home where Bhutto is staying tonight. The ex-PM has praised Musharraf's scheduling of elections for January 9 but says the state of affairs is still unacceptable. She has appealed to all of Pakistan to join the march. (More Benazir Bhutto stories.)

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