By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS
Islamabad : Pakistan was on the edge with thousands of arrests of opposition leaders in key cities as former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was set to land here in a little while after seven years in exile.
Several leaders of the religious alliance Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal, including its president Maulana Fazlur Rehman and secretary general Qazi Hussain Ahmed, were arrested late Sunday night along with the entire top leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
All roads leading to the Islamabad Airport was completely sealed with the 57-year-old Sharif set to take on Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf whom he called a “reckless, impulsive dictator”.
Local MMA parliamentarian Mian Aslam told IANS that hundreds of their workers were arrested besides more than 30 leaders in different cities. MMA, in a meeting last week, decided to give a big welcome to once rival Nawaz Sharif.
“Our fight is against the dictator and we are supporting each other in this fight,” Aslam said.
PML-N spokesman Siddiqul Farooq said that thousands of their workers have been arrested and the police was hunting for every Muslim Leaguer but “we are confidant that many of our workers would find way to the airport through some of the unguarded streets.
Sharif left for Islamabad late on Sunday from London on Pakistan International Airlines flight PK-786. Shortly before leaving for Pakistan, Sharif asked his brother, former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, to stay in Britain so that he can lead the party in case of his arrest.
Hundreds of people in Rawalpindi and Islamabad were seen trying to reach the airport where the PIA flight is scheduled to land at 9 a.m. All routes leading to the Islamabad Airport was sealed and all outgoing flights have been cancelled while the incoming flights were being diverted to other airports in the country.