Pak: Rallies may be banned during campaigning

Pakistan government on Tuesday said rallies could be banned during the campaign for the January 8 general election as part of a security code of conduct.

The code prepared by the Interior Ministry and sent to political parties and the Election Commission also recommends that political gatherings may be allowed only at specified places, Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said.

Opposition parties like Pakistan People's Party of former Premier Benazir Bhutto and hardline Jamaat-e-Islami have already said they will be unwilling to accept any ban on processions.

The ban was first suggested by ruling PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain following a suicide attack on Bhutto's homecoming procession in Karachi last month that killed 140 people.

Cheema told a news briefing that provincial governments and district administrations should notify places where gatherings could be held during the poll campaign. Organisers must get no objection certificates from local authorities so that security arrangements could be made to avoid untoward incidents.

The overall responsibility for security would rest with the administration and law enforcement agencies and not with the private security of political parties, he said.

In response to a question, Cheema said the government will provide foolproof security to political leaders facing threats during the electioneering.

The government does not want to impede political activities in any manner but has to take necessary measures to minimise the threat posed by extremist forces, Cheema said.

Only 37 people, detained after the imposition of emergency, are yet to be freed and the government has released 5,748 detainees, he said. Of the remaining 37, five were detained under the Maintenance of Public Order Act and 32 were booked under various charges for violence and violation of the law of the land. They will have to face the courts, Cheema said.

Answering a question, the spokesman said there will be no change in Pakistan's policy for the war on terror after President Pervez Musharraf doffs uniform on Wednesday.

Terrorism is a very serious threat to internal security and efforts will continue to rid the country of the menace, he remarked.

Out of 45 suicide bomb incidents in the recent past, 26 have been solved by investigators, reflecting a success rate of 60 per cent. The remaining 19 are being investigated and the probe would be completed as soon as possible, he said.

To another question, Cheema again said the deposed judges of the Supreme Court are free to go to their own homes.

"If they want to do so, the government will facilitate it," he said.

The vacation of official accommodation is under the jurisdiction of the apex court and only it would decide when these houses would be vacated.