I am still trying to lead rally: Benazir
Islamabad (PTI): Former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto, who has been put under detention at her house, said she was still "trying" to leave her house to lead her party rally in Rawalpindi against the emergency imposed by President Pervez Musharraf.
"I am trying to get out (of the house) as I want to go to Rawalpindi," Bhutto told Geo News channel over phone.
Bhutto was "put under detention for unspecified period" after she tried to step out of her house here to lead her Pakistan People's Party rally in Rawalpindi on Friday.
"I am in front of my house in my car. I have not been arrested and no arrest warrant has been served on me. Large numbers of policemen are present here and there are barb wire barricades and blockades in front of me," she said.
Bhutto said police had baton-charged PPP workers in Peshawar and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to prevent them from going to Rawalpindi for the rally.
"People should try to go to Rawalpindi and I will also try to go there," she said.
"The government is saying I should not go out of the house because some suicide attackers have come to Islamabad. But if they know these suicide attackers are in Islamabad, I want to ask whey they haven't been arrested?"
Hundreds of policemen surrounded Bhutto's residence here to prevent her from going to Rawalpindi to lead a rally
Earlier, defying the government's order that she should not leave her house "for her own security", Bhutto left her house at around 1: 40 pm but was stopped by policemen. A magistrate served detention order on her and she was taken back to the house.
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto (center), speaks to supporters outside her house.
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, surrounded by barb wire outside her house.
The government of Pakistan late on Friday has withdrawn the earlier detention notice and house arrest of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Police had served her with a temporary detention notice and ordered her to serve 30 days of house arrest. Bhutto was not detained by the police.

The move came as Bhutto planned to attend a protest she organised today in Rawalpindi. She was stopped by troops who were ordered to surround and block off her home located in Islamabad. They then served her with a 30 day detention when she attempted to cross the blockade.

"I am trying to get out, as I want to go to Rawalpindi. I am in front of my house in my car. I have not been arrested and no arrest warrant has been served on me. Large numbers of policemen are present here and there are barb wire barricades and blockades in front of me," said Bhutto.

Police claimed that they are protecting Bhutto from a possible suicide bomb attack because "some suicide attackers have come to Islamabad," added Bhutto.

In Rawalpindi, protesters clashed with police who were enforcing a ban against public demonstrations. Bhutto has publicly announced that she will head a protest against the country's president, Pervez Musharraf, in an attempt to get him to resign as head of the country's military. A protest march from Lahore to Islamabad is scheduled for early next week.