Kulsoom alleges illegal detention

LAHORE, JULY 10. Mrs. Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of the ousted Pakistani Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif, today said the authorities had put her under house arrest and police besieging her home were not allowing members of her family to enter.

``I cannot go out and my children cannot come in. I am detained illegally,'' Mrs. Kulsoom Nawaz said. Witnesses said dozens of police surrounded her house for the third day in the fashionable model town district of Lahore. Mrs. Kulsoom said police had tried to force their way into her home in the early hours of today to arrest some leaders of her Pakistan Muslim League (PML) who were staying in her house, but her guards resisted.

``Police withdrew when my guards took up arms and I told them their action would lead to a bloodshed,'' she said, adding that police were also harassing her servants. Mrs. Kulsoom was detained in her car for several hours on Saturday, after crossing a police cordon trying to prevent her leading a cross-country procession.

The 10-hour standoff ended early yesterday and Mrs. Kulsoom returned home under police escort. The military regime, which toppled Mr. Sharif in October, said the action was necessary to uphold a law banning rallies.

Mrs. Kulsoom says the rally was to raise funds for drought victims.

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Section  : International
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