Bhutto Fails to Break Barricade

Police block her from driving out to lead rally
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 9, 2007 8:57 AM CST
Bhutto Fails to Break Barricade
Pakistans former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto adjusts her shawl during a press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007. Bhutto denounced a pledge from Pakistan's military president Thursday to hold elections by mid-February as insufficient and said he should step down as army chief...   (Associated Press)

Benazir Bhutto tried unsuccessfully to break through the police blockade outside her Islamabad home today to lead a rally in a nearby city, the AP reports. "We are trying to pass through because we want to reach Rawalpindi," Bhutto said after trying to drive through the blockade. "There was a baton charge. There was a barbed wire."

Bhutto and about 50 supporters made it only about 40 yards before police stopped them. "The government is paralyzed," she shouted to supporters by megaphone. Despite her home confinement, Bhutto encouraged supporters to rally in Rawalpindi today to demand an end to emergency rule. She also demanded that Pervez Musharraf step down as chief of the army by next week. (More Benazir Bhutto stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X