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Pakistan braces itself for rally

ISLAMABAD: The barbed wire that President Pervez Musharraf threw around the capital with his November 2007 Emergency never really went away, even after the elections brought in a new government.

The city’s main Constitution Avenue — some people have demanded it be renamed “Unconstitutional” Avenue — has been a no-go zone since last November as political upheaval and protests peaked during the Emergency. Those who expected the barricades to come down when the new government took office were disappointed.

The road and the buildings located on it — the presidential Aiwan-e-Sadr, National Assembly, Supreme Court, Prime Minister’s house — have remained barricaded, barbed wired and guarded by police and paramilitaries.

On Tuesday, with thousands of lawyers massing in Multan for a “long march” to the capital to press their demand for the reinstatement of the judges, a nervous government fortified the road further.

Three massive containers now block the approach to the Aiwan-e-Sadr, while several more are on standby. The police and paramilitaries have beefed up their positions. Fresh concertina wire runs around the Prime Minister’s house. Deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary travelled to Multan from Islamabad on Tuesday to greet the lawyers who have supported his cause for more than a year. The lawyers are gathering in the city before they move to Lahore on Wednesday and onward to the capital the day after.

Their final destination in the capital is not clear yet. First, they said they would lay siege to Army House, residence of retired General Musharraf. Later, they said they would march to the National Assembly. But security measures are in place for both eventualities, though the government said on Tuesday it would not stop the rally from entering the capital. Pakistan People’s Party’s Rehman Malik said the government would not try to stop the demonstrators, as long as the rally was peaceful.

“This is the right of people to demonstrate. As long as they are peaceful, we will be peaceful, and we are assured by them that they will be peaceful,” said Mr. Malik. The PPP differs with the lawyers on how the judges should be reinstated, also alienating the Pakistan Muslim League (N), its main coalition partner, on this issue. The PML (N), which heads the Punjab government, and backs the lawyers’ movement, would be present in strength during the rally.

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