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Prominent Islamic leader detained
By MUNIR AHMED
Associated Press Writer
11/10/01
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — An influential Islamic cleric was placed under house arrest Saturday, a day after he led a nationwide strike and called for the ouster of Pakistan's government.
Maulana Samiul Haq is the head of the Afghan Defense Council, a loose confederation of Islamic groups that organized Friday's strike to protest President Pervez Musharraf's support for the U.S. campaign against terrorism, and the bombing in Afghanistan.
"After today's successful strike Musharraf has no right to remain in power ... and he should step down,'' Haq told thousands of supporters Friday in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
Police on Saturday blocked all major roads leading to Haq's house in Akora Khatak, near Peshawar, and also arrested his son Hamidul Haq, according to Haq and his supporters.
"A heavy contingent of police is present outside my residence and I am not being allowed to go outside,'' Haq told The Associated Press by phone. "My son has also been arrested and we are being treated like criminals.''
Haq runs one of Pakistan's largest religious seminaries and is one of the country's most prominent supporters of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement.
Dozens of Taliban leaders were among Haq's former students, and they frequently consult him. Haq is also a close confidant of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, though he was not one of Haq's students.
Pakistani authorities said Haq was detained to prevent him from entering the eastern province of Punjab, where he was to preside over a meeting of clerics.
Musharraf's government has tolerated protest rallies by Islamic groups opposed to his policies. But his government has also placed several prominent religious leaders under house arrest.
Friday's strike resulted in several confrontations with police. Four protesters were killed in central Pakistan when police opened fire on a group that was blocking a highway and a rail line. Police said the protesters threw stones. Elsewhere they burned tires and smashed car windows.
"Our members were peaceful in all the parts of the country,'' Haq said of Friday's rallies. "The authorities fired on them without any reason.''
But Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider said authorities acted against those who were breaking the law. He said a large majority supported Musharraf's policies, and the protests were be led by a small number of extremists.
Islamic leaders said they would carry on with their protests.
"The army should remove Musharraf and replace the present government with Islamic leaders and patriotic politicians,'' said Liaquat Baloch, an Islamic leader and chief organizer of Afghan Defense Council.