By NNN-PTI,
Karachi : Pakistan police lathicharged activists and detained politicians and lawyers as thousands of people defied government ban and set out on a march to Islamabad, touching off fears of a showdown between President Asif Ali Zardari and his one-time ally Nawaz Sharif.
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Ghafoor Ahmed and Karachi Bar Association President Muhammad Ali Abbasi were among over 350 political activists and lawyers detained across the country.
They are demanding the reinstatement of judges sacked during the 2007 emergency.
The Government ban on demonstrations and processions, earlier limited to Sindh and Punjab provinces, was Thursday extended to the whole of the country.
Already on the backfoot, Zardari is facing heat from several quarters. Sharif has gone on the offensive after the Supreme Court barred him and his brother Shahbaz Sharif from contesting polls and holding public office.
There are also reports that Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani is unhappy with Zardari’s functioning and wants him to quickly clear the political mess.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, handpicked by Zardari for the key post, has also made known his disapproval of certain actions of the President.
Zardari also faces trouble from the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) with extremist elements tightening their stranglehold.