Benazir slams arrest of PPP activists

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister and chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party, has condemned the arrest of PPP MNA Samina Gurkhi, former MNA Shahnaz Javed and thousands of party activists throughout the country in an attempt to stop them from welcoming Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday.

In a midnight swoop, the police arrested Ms Ghurkhi from her residence, barricaded roads leading to the Bilawal House in Lahore, and arrested party workers, including women from Karachi, interior Sindh, Lahore and other parts of the country. The Bilawal House in Lahore was surrounded by a heavy contingent of police soon after Nawab Shah District Nazim Faryal Talpur arrived at the house to make arrangements for the stay of Mr Zardari and his guests.

According to the constitution, Section 144 cannot be imposed on peaceful political gatherings, she said. Ms Bhutto said women activists had been arrested for political affiliation just as the cabinet claimed to approved a so-called package of legal reforms to allow special treatment to women accused of offences other than murder and narcotics.

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