Pakistan's Bhutto detained ahead of mass protest

By Kamran Haider and Sophie Walker

LAHORE/LONDON (Reuters) - Pakistani police put opposition leader Benazir Bhutto under house arrest for a week on Tuesday as the Commonwealth threatened suspension unless President Pervez Musharraf repealed a state of emergency.

Army chief Musharraf set off a storm of criticism when he imposed emergency rule on November 3. He suspended the constitution, sacked most judges, locked up lawyers, rounded up thousands of opposition and rights activists and curbed the media.

The Commonwealth, a 53-member body consisting mainly of former British colonies, gave Musharraf until November 22 to end emergency rule and take other steps to address his country's problems, or Pakistan would face suspension.

The crisis in nuclear-armed Pakistan has raised fears about its stability and its focus on battling Islamist militants.

Two-time prime minister Bhutto planned to lead a "long march" motorcade the 270 km (170 miles) from Lahore to the capital Islamabad to demand Musharraf quit as army chief, end emergency rule, reinstate the constitution and free detained activists -- including many from her party.

On Monday, she urged Pakistanis of all shades to join the procession to set off early on Tuesday and vowed it would go ahead even if police tried to block her.

But as hundreds of extra police moved in around the Lahore home of a party official where she was staying, setting up barricades on streets, a senior government official said her procession would not be allowed.

Lahore Police Chief Aftab Cheema later told Reuters outside the house that Bhutto had been served with the week-long detention notice.

But a party spokeswoman vowed the protest would go ahead.

"Our plan is on. Definitely she'll try to come out. We will start our procession from here and if they try to stop us, the whole of Punjab will be a battleground," said the spokeswoman, Fazana Raja.

Police have said Bhutto could be the target of a suicide assassination bid, like the one that killed 139 people at a rally last month welcoming her back from eight years in self-exile.

Last week, police blocked her from leaving her Islamabad home to hold a rally in the nearby city of Rawalpindi.

PRESSURE BUILDS

Musharraf has come under mounting pressure from Western allies to set Pakistan back on the path to democracy.

He said on Sunday general elections would be held by January 9 but he declined to say when the constitution would be restored. The emergency would ensure a free and fair vote, he said.