Nov 05 2007
Up to 500 arrests in emergency-hit Pakistan: PM
ISLAMABAD: Up to 500 people have been arrested across Pakistan in a crackdown launched after the declaration of a state of emergency, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Sunday.
Aziz further said that parliament was entitled to delay elections for a year under emergency rule imposed by President Pervez Musharraf, but added that the government had not yet made a decision.
“There have been 400 to 500 preventative arrests in the country,” Aziz told a news conference in Islamabad, giving the first confirmed figure since Musharraf announced the emergency on Saturday.
The arrested activists include Javed Hashmi, acting chief of former premier Nawaz Sharif’s party, leading rights activist Asma Jahangir and cricket legend-turned-politician Imran Khan.
On the subject of elections set for January, he told reporters: “There could be some timing difference on the election schedule but we have not decided yet.”
“We are still deliberating. The parliament could give itself more time, up to a year, in terms of holding the next election,” Aziz said.
“When we decide what the deliberations result in, we will certainly share it with you.”
The prime minister said the government was “committed to pursuing a parliamentary form of government” and added that he wanted the emergency to be over “without too much time being taken.” - AFP/ac
