BY SEAN HEALY
The military regime of General Pervaiz Musharraf has bowed to domestic and international pressure, finally releasing the last of 20 leaders of the opposition Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy almost a week after they were first arrested.
Labour Party Pakistan general secretary Farooq Tariq, alliance information secretary Zafar Ali Shah and four others were released from Kot Lakhpat prison in the Punjabi city of Lahore on March 27, after the Lahore High Court had accepted their bail applications. The release of the six was delayed after authorities claimed to have "lost" their bail papers; the other 14 leaders had been released within one or two days of their arrest.
The 20 will likely be charged under a notorious "anti-state" act, which carries a jail term.
The ARD brings together 18 parties opposed to Musharraf's dictatorship, which seized power in a coup in October 1999. The alliance, which includes both left-wing parties like the LPP and establishment parties such as the Pakistan Muslim League and the Pakistan People's Party of former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, is calling for Musharraf to announce national elections and step down.
Musharraf has banned political parties and public demonstrations in the country and launched his crackdown after the ARD had vowed to defy the ban by holding a rally for democracy on March 23, Pakistan Day.
The 20 ARD leaders were detained after police and soldiers raided a house where they were meeting to put finishing touches on the rally.
Human rights monitors estimate that a further 1700 party workers were picked up in raids around Lahore that night and in the days that followed. A further 50 were arrested when they gathered to protest at the city's Mochi Gate, the scheduled starting place for the banned rally.
Speaking to a jubilant crowd of supporters outside the prison, who yelled "The east is red", "Long live socialism" and "Restore democracy", Tariq said that the LPP had proved that it was the "best fighter" for the Pakistani working class.
He commended the bravery of party activists who had protested at Mochi Gate in spite of the heavy police presence, including that of the party's Punjab secretary, Zafar Awan, who was badly beaten by the military. He vowed that the party was prepared to make far greater sacrifices in the struggle to restore democracy.
Zafar Ali Shah was also unstinting in his praise for the LPP, thanking it for its contribution to the movement for democracy.
Alliance leaders have said that, despite the crackdown and the charges, they are undaunted and are now planning their next moves.