Police Block Activists From Leaving Karachi in Pakistan Protest

[tekisui]

Source: AFP

KARACHI (AFP) — Pakistan blockaded activists from leaving the country's biggest city of Karachi and manhandled protesters into prison vans Thursday, raising tensions at the start of an anti-government march.

Flinging nuclear-armed Pakistan into fresh crisis, lawyers and opposition supporters planned to drive 1,500 kilometres (940 miles) from Karachi to Islamabad to demand that President Asif Ali Zardari reinstate sacked judges.

Main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, locked in a showdown with Zardari, has urged the masses to rise up against the civilian government, which has failed to stem a political crisis, the economic meltdown and Islamist violence.

more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jllX-ZZ7OjIoClt1P9NmIcMWsyqA