Pak. Police detain ousted PM's wife

Lahore, July 8. (Reuters): Pakistani police today detained the wife of deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after preventing a rally she was expected to lead, their daughter said.

Maryam Safdar said a car carrying her mother, Kulsoom Nawaz, was stopped and then towed away after it was blocked by police about 15 km from her home.

"She somehow managed to leave the house, but when she got to Mall Road they stopped her and lifted the front of the car up and towed it away while she was still in it," Safdar said. The car was towed to the nearby Civil Officers' mess, where Safdar said her mother was refusing to leave the vehicle. "It is ridiculous to do something like that while she was in the car. It's stupid," Safdar said.

Earlier, the roads leading to the Lahore home of Sharif were barricaded and people stopped from leaving or entering the area. Despite a ban imposed by the military-led Government on public rallies and marches, Kulsoom had vowed to lead a motorised procession some 500 km over two days from Lahore to the northwestern town of Peshawar.

Officials from Sharif's party, the Pakistan Muslim League, said the rally was being held to collect funds for drought victims. But political sources said it was a bid to drum up public support for the jailed Sharif.

Party officials said several dozen people were detained today. Local media said hundreds of party workers were detained last night as authorities moved to stop the event.

International rights group Amnesty International said in a statement that the detentions were "a blatant crackdown on basic human rights."

- Reuters

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