By Muhammad Najeeb
Islamabad, Sep 27 (IANS) The Supreme Court of Pakistan Thursday came down hard on the government and ordered the immediate release of the opposition leaders who have been under arrest since they announced their plans to protest against the candidature of President Pervez Musharraf.
More than 150 opposition leaders were arrested Monday when the All Parties Democratic Alliance (APDM) announced its plans to start a campaign against Musharraf’s bid to get himself elected from the assemblies for a second presidential term.
The release orders were given by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry who also reprimanded the government for blocking roads in Islamabad and nearby Rawalpindi. He summoned the senior officials of the Islamabad administration and ordered the immediate removal of the barricades.
On Thursday, the roads in Islamabad bore a deserted look and markets remained closed till noon. All roads leading to the capital were closed and not even pedestrians were allowed to cross over to the capital city where more than 80 percent office-goers, workers and businessmen come from nearby Rawalpindi and adjacent areas.
The extreme steps were taken by security agencies to avoid any untoward incident on the day when Musharraf’s nomination papers were filed for another five-year bid for the presidency.
The US issued an unusually harsh condemnation this week of the “extremely disturbing” arrests while the European Union and Canada also expressed concern.
Musharraf Thursday filed nomination papers along with several other candidates, which include Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim and former Supreme Court judge Wajihuddin Ahmed, who has support from the lawyers’ community and APDM.
A representative of the government assured the court that the arrested leaders of APDM would be released “immediately”. The arrested leaders include Makhdoom Javed Hashmi of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, who was released last month on Supreme Court orders after four years in jail. He and several other APDM leaders were arrested after they announced Monday that they would launch an agitation against Musharraf.