Daily Times : BB slams crackdown on lawyers

BB slams crackdown on lawyers

AFP | November 6, 2007

KARACHI: Former premier Benazir Bhutto on Monday condemned a police crackdown on lawyers rallying against the recently imposed emergency and called for elections as planned in January.

“We strongly condemn the violence against lawyers and the media. This force and brutality should be kept away from our society,” Bhutto told a news conference in Karachi.

“All political prisoners should be released.” She added.

“I want elections to be held on time,” Bhutto said, adding “elections should be completed by 16 January.” “Musharraf should fulfill his promise to remove his uniform, which he made to the Supreme Court and when he was having a dialogue with us,” she said.

“If Musharraf wants to defuse this crisis he should immediately restore the Constitution.”

Bhutto also called for a “political solution” to the ongoing problem of Al Qaeda and Taliban militancy in the Tribal Areas.