Police mishandled PML procession, says Pak. press

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JULY 9. Major newspapers in Pakistan have criticised the Musharraf Government's handling of the procession planned by Ms. Kulsoom Sharif, wife of the deposed Prime Minister, from Lahore to Peshawar yesterday.

The`overzealousness' on the part of the Punjab police in preventing her from going ahead with a 500-km procession has drawn flak with most papers saying the highhandedness displayed by the authorities could prove counter-productive.

Commenting editorially the Dawn , known for its independent stance, said the authorities had reacted with the characteristic zeal shown on such occasions by rounding up hundreds of activists of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML). ``In the process some of the `peaceful' members of the PML have also been picked up. Some of whom have been at pains to distance themselves from Begum Kulsoom's politics. So much for the efficiency of the law enforcement agencies. The Government could have been more relaxed.''

The paper said Begum Kulsoom, in wanting to stage the march, was on her own with little support from any of the leading figures in the party. ``In these circumstances would she have been able to draw up much of a show for her caravan?. Obviously the Government was in no mood to take chances and so decided to preempt Begum Kulsoom''.

In its editorial, `An unseemly overkill' The News commented that ``governments in Pakistan always reach out for the tenth solution to challenges facing them, bypassing the nine better ones available. There is little evidence to suggest that the Musharraf Government is breaking with this inglorious tradition.''

It expressed concern at the repercussions of such actions for the image of Pakistan. ``Just as bad is the fact that the international community, which has been constantly told by this Government's officials about the openness of the political culture and the blissful state of civil liberties in the country, would now take such claims with a measure of salt''.

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Section  : International
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