Pakistani Lawmakers Protest
By VOA News
26 February 2009
Opposition lawmakers in Pakistan have scuffled with police during a demonstration against court rulings that barred two of their leaders from elected office.
Police detained at least 20 lawmakers outside the Punjab provincial assembly in Lahore Thursday, as supporters of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gathered in protest.
Other supporters of Mr. Sharif's main opposition party, Pakistan Muslim League-N, took to the streets across the country and burned pictures of President Asif Ali Zardari.
A ruling on Wednesday by Pakistan's Supreme Court upheld an election ban on Mr. Sharif, disqualifying him from seeking office.
The court decision also nullified last year's election of Mr. Sharif's brother, Shahbaz, as chief minister of Punjab province. The ruling means he must resign from office.
Opposition supporters accuse President Zardari of influencing the courts to disqualify his strongest political opponent.
A spokesman for Sharif's party (Ahsan Iqbal) called the ruling a "coup against democracy" and the opposition party.
Wednesday's Supreme Court decision stems from a lower court ruling in Lahore that barred Nawaz Sharif from participating in elections because of a prior criminal conviction.
Following last year's elections, Mr. Sharif's political party joined the ruling coalition headed by President Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party. Mr. Sharif later quit after the president refused to reinstate top judges fired by former President Pervez Musharraf.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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