Pakistan Bracing Itself for Major Turmoil this Weekend

May 11 (EIRNS)--Islamabad is bracing itself for a highly turbulent weekend as ruling coalition parties and opposition parties have both announced a big show of force in the shape of rallies, for and against the government, reports Syed Saleem Shahzad of AKI. In the port city of Karachi, a local youth organization has called for a protest against electricity blackouts and price hikes on May 11 and all opposition parties and trade unions have adhered to its call.

To counter the oppositionists, President Musharraf's supporters have issued a call urging support for his leadership in response to recent anti-government protests following Musharraf's sacking of the country's top judge. But on that same day, the suspended Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry is due to address the Bar council in Karachi, and that event is expected to attract a large number of anti-government protesters.

The administration of Islamabad's radical Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) on May 10 urged the lawyers' community to convert their anti-government efforts into a struggle for enforcement of Sharia law (Islamic law), adding that the judiciary's independence was a 'temporary cause'. "Enforcement of Sharia has a wider perspective which also covers the freedom of judiciary," deputy in-charge of Lal Masjid, Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi told Dawn. Lal Masjd Imam and Jamia Hafsa in-charge Maulana Abdul Aziz said the struggle against the regime would continue till the end of the regime and total implementation of Islamic Sharia.

In anticipation of a major turmoil in the offing, Pakistani authorities have arrested scores of opposition activists and deployed 15,000 police and paramilitary troops on May 11 ahead of a rally to be led by the country's suspended top judge Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, officials said.