ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistani police fired tear gas Monday at scores of demonstrating lawyers who were demanding that President Pervez Musharraf reinstate the deposed supreme court chief justice.
Helmeted police in riot gear fired several tear gas canisters at about 200 lawyers and other demonstrators, who were shouting slogans outside the residence of ousted Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. He has been under house arrest along with his family since Musharraf declared a state of emergency on Nov. 3.
The police crackdown was filmed by television news cameras and broadcast live across the country. Many lawyers were seen coughing and bending over after being hit by clouds of the acrid smoke. Some picked up the canisters and threw them back at the policemen, who retreated before regrouping.
The lawyers had gathered outside Chaudhry's house after hearing unconfirmed television reports that the government had lifted the house-arrest restrictions on his wife and three children. The lawyers became agitated when it became apparent that the reports were apparently incorrect.
''Free the children, Go Musharraf Go!'' shouted the lawyers, who also demanded that police allow them to go inside the house, which is surrounded by barbed wire.
Earlier Monday, the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Aitzaz Ahsan, announced that lawyers will observe a ''black flag week'' beginning March 9 to mark the first anniversary of an attempt by Musharraf to fire Chaudhry. He said lawyers will pass out black flags to people and stage...
Full story @ nytimes.com
No comments:
Post a Comment