WRAP Lawyers' protest against Musharraf, Bhutto's house
(17 Nov 2007) Islamabad 1. Wide lawyers in protest march, shouting slogans against Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf 2. Various of lawyers marching and chanting 3. Wide security forces lined up at barricade 4. Lawyers marching past security personnel 5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Syed Ibrar Ali Shah, lawyer: "We demand that he ( Musharraf) should quit this regime, and he should go to home, and he should hand over this regime to the politicians and to revive democracy." 6. Pan from onlookers to lawyers clapping and chanting as they march Lahore 7. Pakistani People's Party (PPP) supporters slaughtering goats in front of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's house 8. Cutaway media 9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Yusuf Raza Gilani, PPP vice-president: "But as far as there is the restrictions and the ban on the Geo and the ARY (Television channels) we condemn it because we can't stop the information to the people and that's really... it's embarrassing and it's a humiliation and disgrace and this embargo should have been lifted." 10. Security cordon outside Bhutto's house 11. Close-up of rifle on sandbag 12. Various of security STORYLINE: Lawyers staged a protest march in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Saturday in continued calls for the resignation of President General Pervez Musharraf and a move towards democracy. About 100 lawyers from the Islamabad Bar Association marched through the capital city demanding the military ruler hand over to civilian rule. Lawyer Syed Ibrar Ali Shah said, "We demand that he should quit this regime, and he should go to home, and he should hand over this regime to the politicians and to revive democracy." Meanwhile supporters of Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) on Saturday slaughtered two goats to bring the opposition leader safety and a long life. The was a heavy security presence as the animals were killed outside Bhutto's Lahore home. Bhutto was released from house arrest on Friday, in a move that was viewed as one of a number of face-saving measures the government took ahead of the arrival of a senior American diplomat, US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte. Negroponte's trip was seen as a last best chance to avoid political turmoil in Pakistan, which has seen its Supreme Court purged and thousands of protesters detained since President Pervez Musharraf declared emergency rule on November 3. Negroponte phoned Bhutto overnight, the US State Department said, in the highest-level U.S. contact with the Pakistani opposition leader since the emergency began. The conversation came just hours after Bhutto was released from house arrest. A prominent human rights activist was also released, and several opposition television news stations were allowed back on the air. But there were also some ominous signs, with the broadcasts of two major independent television news stations, Geo and ARY, both of which transmit from nearby Dubai, being cut. Geo TV, one of Pakistan's most popular independent TV stations, has broadcast news from Dubai since 2002. Speaking to AP Television on Saturday, Yusuf Raza Gilani PPP vice-president called for the lifting of the restrictions imposed by President Musharraf and for return to air of Geo TV and ARY. "We condemn it because we can't stop the information to the people and that's really... it's embarrassing and it's a humiliation and disgrace and this embargo should have been lifted," Gilani said. Both stations said Dubai took action in response to pressure from Musharraf. GEO news broadcast a continuous video of a thunderstorm at sea, with its logo floating on the choppy waves. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
