By DPA
Islamabad : Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto claimed Thursday that police killed two of her supporters at a protest rally against emergency rule in Karachi.
“In Karachi 300 people have been arrested. There were huge protests at (the district of) Liari and two of our boys were brutally and mercilessly killed by the police,” she told the Dawn News channel.
“Throughout the central Punjab province and the province of Sindh there are reports of baton-charging, tear-gassing and massive arrests. In fact, everybody has been put behind bars,” Bhutto added.
The two-time former prime minister has been held under house arrest since Monday in eastern city of Lahore, where she was to have led a “long march for democracy” to the capital Islamabad over the state of emergency imposed Nov 3 by President Pervez Musharraf.
The leaders had been engaged in power-sharing talks for several months. But in response to her detention and alleged mass brutality against her supporters, Bhutto Tuesday vowed to unite opposition forces against Musharraf.
“The protests are going to go until Musharraf quits and Pakistan is returned to the people. This march is to end martial law,” Bhutto said.
Formerly believed to be angling for a third term as premier in exchange for her party’s support, Bhutto also ruled out the possibility of working in any capacity with Musharraf, even if removes his army uniform and become a civilian president.