Pakistani Police Arrest Hundreds

Nov 04, 03:25 PM

Current Headlines: Pakistani police arrested hundreds of political activists Sunday during the second day of martial law declared by President Pervez Musharraf.

Police raided the homes of opposition party leaders and activists and confiscated the equipment of journalists covering the raids, The Washington Post reported.

Human Rights Watch, an international advocacy group, condemned the reported arrests of nearly 500 people as an appalling attack on human rights defenders.

Musharraf, in a television address Saturday, said militant violence and an interfering judiciary forced him to impose the emergency rule.

Extremists are roaming around freely in the country, and they are not scared of law-enforcement agencies, Musharraf said hours after declaring emergency rule and replacing the supreme court chief justice.

Abdul Hameed Dogar was sworn in as the new chief justice, replacing dismissed Iftikhar Choudhry, whose court had yet to rule on the validity of Musharraf's October re-election to a second term. There have been reports Musharraf expected an adverse court ruling.

Musharraf called Pakistan on the verge of destabilization saying he would not allow Pakistan to commit suicide.