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Musharraf Not To Allow Political Rallies
ISLAMABAD, April 30 (News Agencies) - Pakistani military ruler General Pervez Musharraf Monday said his government would not allow opposition parties to stage a political rally in Karachi on May Day.
"Those who are useless politicians should stay at home. We will not tolerate any instability," the official Associated Press of Pakistan quoted him as saying here.
"Don't hand over May Day to the politicians. They have played their innings. They have played useless innings and have been getting out on zero," he told a convention of newly elected local government members.
Musharraf's statement came as Karachi police sealed the venue of a pro-democracy rally planned for Tuesday after the opposition vowed to defy the ban on political gatherings.
Musharraf said the government would support rallies in favor of the country but that those by politicians created disturbance.
Witnesses said Karachi's main Nishtar Park, known for large political rallies in the past, was sealed off by hundreds of riot police.
"The park has been closed for two days," said a police officer outside the park.
Officials said a massive force of 15,000 police and paramilitary troops was being deployed across the city to prevent a rally by the 18-party Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD).
The ARD announced earlier this month it would rally against the Musharraf's government to press its demand for the early restoration of democracy.
"There will be around 15,000 policemen besides paramilitary rangers to maintain law and order and prevent violence," provincial police chief Aftab Nabi said.
Amid fears of a possible showdown on international Labor Day, Nabi said "police will not allow any procession or any kind of violence."
Musharraf, who toppled prime minister Nawaz Sharif's government in a military coup in October 1999, has banned outdoor political gatherings and suspended parliament and the constitution.
Vowing to give the country "true democracy," Musharraf has promised elections before the third anniversary of his regime on October 12, 2002, but no timetable has been set despite pressure from home and abroad.
Opposition leaders said thousands of ARD supporters and leaders have been detained in a police crackdown over the past four days, while officials put the number of arrests at around 800.
The detainees include members of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP).
Human rights groups and the U.S. State Department have criticized the crackdown on political parties in Pakistan.
Provincial PPP chief Nisar Khuro said law enforcement agencies had practically cut off Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province, from rest of the country.
"This is nothing but martial law," Khuro said.
The ARD said most of its stalwarts have been sent to jails while several senior leaders, including alliance chief Nawabzada Nasrullah, were under house arrest.
A similar crackdown against party members foiled a planned ARD rally in the eastern city of Lahore last month.
Senior PML leader Javed Hashmi, who was "expelled" from Karachi on Thursday, said the May Day rally would go ahead "despite arrests, raids and unprecedented deployment [of police].
"They will do their job and we will do ours," he said.
Lawyers in Quetta, capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, opposed to military rule burnt copies of the provisional constitutional order issued by Musharraf after the 1999 coup.
"We want the army to return to barracks, and restore civilian rule in the country immediately," Baluchistan Bar Association leader Ali Ahmed Kurd said.
"We are not with any political party and our protest is for democracy."
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