Islamabad - Pakistani police on Monday baton-charged and detained lawyers in the southern port city of Karachi as they protested the weekend proclamation of a state of emergency by President Pervez Musharraf. "Police beat us ruthlessly when we came to the Singh High Court building in the morning and arrested a few dozen of our colleagues," lawyer Akhtar Hussain said.
The clash came a day after law enforcement agencies detained hundreds of opposition workers, rights activists and lawyers throughout the country for criticizing Musharraf's move.
Musharraf, who took over in a bloodless military coup in 1999, partially suspended the country's constitution Saturday, curtailed civil rights and replaced top members of the judiciary who he saw as a threat to his rule.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Sunday defended the development as a measure aimed at bringing normalcy to the country, saying, "It [emergency rule] would be there as long as it is necessary, but our desire is to keep it as short as feasible."
The international community reacted with sharp criticism of Musharraf's action and expressed concern over political turmoil in Pakistan, which is scheduled to hold national elections in January.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Sunday for a "prompt return to a constitutional course" and for all parties to show restraint.
"The United States does not support and communicated to the Pakistani leadership prior to this action that it would not support extraconstitutional means," Rice said while speaking ahead of a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem.
