Massive shipping containers are being hoisted into place to prevent a popular procession that is travelling from all over Pakistan to Islamabad, the capital, in support of Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, the sacked chief justice.
Pakistan's police forces say they will not allow protesters to reach parliament in Islamabad. Pakistani opposition party leader, Nawaz Sharif, has defied a government ban on political gatherings and led tens of thousands of his supporters through the streets of Lahore.
There were violent clashes as demonstrators battled with police near the High Court. Mr Sharif is now trying to lead the procession in a long march all the way to the capital Islamabad.
Under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the government has effectively banned people from gathering, marching and displaying political colours across Punjab, Pakistan's largest province.
The Pakistani interior ministry says it has been forced to take such measures because of fears of suicide bombers attacking the protesters.
In the last few days mass arrests have also been made; political activists, party workers, and lawyers have been were picked up from their houses in the middle of the night. High profile politicians such as former Pakistani cricketer Imran khan have not escaped the crackdown. Khan went into hiding after the police raided his offices and he remains on the run.
Pakistan's political observers say the raids, arrests and security measures have a familiar feel to them and are the same type of tactics used by the British in India to quell the independence movement in the 1930s and 40s.
These were of similar nature to the laws and decrees which put now-iconic figures like Gandhi behind bars. Pakistan's penal code is an adaptation of the one the British left behind after independence and partition.
Many Pakistanis have wondered why the government has now resorted to such measures when previous marches had been conducted peacefully.
Many of the police are also supporters of Nawaz Sharif and they say they don't want to stand in the way of the 'long march'.
It's a worrying sign for the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.
Nawaz Sharif has shown he can rally large crowds and in Lahore, some police have no intention of stopping them.
Posted by Mohan Sehgal | Views 364 | Share Blog
