Pakistan Religious Party Leader Placed Under House Arrest
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Nov 4 (News Agencies) - Pakistani religious party leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed was placed under house arrest Saturday ahead of a planned anti-U.S. protest rally, his supporters said.
Police were posted outside Qazi's residence on Saturday night with orders to prevent him leaving, his Jamaat-i-Islami party said in a written statement.
Qazi had been scheduled to lead a major rally in the northwestern tribal district of Bajaur on Sunday to protest against the U.S. bombing in Afghanistan and the Pakistan government's support for the campaign.
Qazi has organized several similar public protests since the U.S.-led aerial strikes began on October 7.
Bajaur has been a staging point for more than 3,000 armed Pakistani Pashtun volunteers who have crossed into Afghanistan in recent days to join the Taliban in their fight against U.S.-led coalition forces.
The order to place Qazi under house arrest had come from the chief administrator of Bajaur, the Jamaat statement said.
