Multan, Pakistan, Dec 18: Hundreds of supporters of a hardline religious coalition began gathering today for the start of a protest campaign against Pakistan's leader, demanding that he let parliament vote on his powers. In a late-night meeting yesterday, leaders of Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal coalition decided to make good on a threat to start demonstrations after their December 17 deadline passed without agreement with the government on the issue.
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf took power in a bloodless coup in 1999. He oversaw legislative elections last year - but beforehand he'd made drastic changes to the constitution, giving himself powers to dismiss the prime minister, cabinet and parliament.
Today, about 400 coalition members gathered in Multan, a deeply conservative city in Eastern Punjab province, before marching toward a nearby town where clerics were to address a demonstration expected to draw thousands.
"Today's rally will prove that people are with us and want to get rid of Musharraf," Qazi Hussain Ahmed, President of the coalition, told reporters. "Our protest will continue until the ending of dictatorship."
Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal holds 77 seats in the 342-seat national assembly. It fared well in last year's elections on its strong opposition to Musharraf's support of the US-led war to oust the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The government had earlier expressed optimism that it would reach understanding with the coalition on the dispute over the President's powers.
Bureau Report