clashes mark protest in pakistan

Police in the Pakistani city of Karachi have used sticks to beat up protesters outside the high court, as lawyers began an anti-government protest march.
Organisers intend the four-day march to culminate in a sit-in at the parliament in the capital, Islamabad, on Monday.

The demonstrators want President Asif Ali Zardari to fulfill a pledge to reinstate all judges sacked under former President Pervez Musharraf.
The government says the march is aimed at destabilising the country.

Police say they have arrested more than 400 opposition activists in the past few days.
The authorities have also banned political gatherings across the country, saying they could trigger bloodshed.
Despite the ban on political gatherings, a group of Jamaat-e-Islami party activists managed to arrive near the court and a scuffle broke out with the police.

The police used batons and sticks to beat back the protesters. Dozens of demonstrators were arrested.


Activists believe the ban on political gatherings is a bid to disrupt the rallies around the country, which they are calling the "long march". They have pledged that they will be peaceful.

The protest follows a heightening of tensions in Pakistan, after a court ruling barring opposition leader Nawaz Sharif and his brother from holding public office. Mr Sharif has backed the lawyers' demand for the judges to be reinstated and has called on Pakistanis to join the demonstration.