Pakistan detains opposition leader
Violence, arrests precede Zardari's return
LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- The Pakistani opposition leader arrested by government authorities ahead of planned weekend rallies in Lahore told CNN he has a message for his country's leadership: Pakistan "will have to give us free, fair elections and democracy."
Asif Ali Zardari was detained when Pakistani security forces stormed his plane as it arrived in the country on Saturday, witnesses said.
The government had vowed to prevent rallies by the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP).
Authorities virtually shut down Lahore in advance of Zardari's arrival, with thousands of police on the streets and more than 50 roadblocks set up.
Authorities took cameras from journalists who traveled on the plane and shut down cell towers to cut off cell phone service, some of the journalists told CNN.
Some said they were beaten. One said the government later apologized, saying there had been a misunderstanding.
The government blocked train service into Lahore and worked to prevent opposition activists elsewhere from boarding trains to Lahore. Some activists were wounded in clashes with police.
"They arrested me from within the plane and took me on the tarmac in the car, and took me to my house and blocked everybody coming in," Zardari told CNN by telephone from his home. "They say if you come out we're going to arrest you."
Pakistani authorities gave a different story, saying Zardari was in "protective custody."
Government officials said Zardari requested such custody, but he denied that.
He told CNN the government was "trying to keep space open for fundamentalist parties. They don't want to deal with the liberal parties. They want to create a vacuum, thereby the fundamentalist parties become even stronger."
Following the government actions, the planned rallies did not take place.
Zardari said his government must know "there's a lot happening. Democracy is today's world order. Everybody's talking democracy in the region and the world. And they will have to give us free, fair elections and democracy."
The government deployed about 12,000 police in advance of the opposition leader's arrival, police sources said. About 4,000 of the officers were stationed around the airport, police sources said.
At Karachi's railway station on Friday, police charged a group of PPP activists, wounding dozens. At least two journalists were listed in critical condition from injuries suffered in that melee.
Before Saturday, Zardari had been in Dubai visiting his wife, former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who has been living in self-imposed exile, fearing arrest on corruption charges if she returns to Pakistan.
Zardari was jailed in 1996 when his wife's government was dismissed amid allegations of corruption. He was released last December after more than eight years in prison.
His arrest Saturday sparked anger, but in the following hours tensions on the streets appeared to decrease.
Journalists who had traveled on the plane with Zardari told CNN their cameras were taken from them and they were beaten. Authorities shut down cell towers near the airport to cut off cell phone service. Shahid Masood, director of the ARY News Channel, was among those on the plane. He said he and other reporters, along with friends and PPP members, were "mishandled."
Masood said the government later apologized to the journalists, telling them it was a "misunderstanding."
Despite government efforts, hundreds of PPP members managed to reach the Lahore airport. More than 100, including some members of parliament, were arrested when they started chanting slogans, according to PPP and police sources.
Arrests continued throughout the day.
More than 5,000 PPP workers, leaders and members of parliament have been arrested since Friday, when thousands of party members clashed with security forces. according to police and PPP sources.
Masood said there was word the government would begin releasing PPP supporters gradually on Saturday.
The government of President Pervez Musharraf has been adamant about quashing political demonstrations in Lahore. Pakistan's Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told CNN on Friday the government would not allow the PPP to hold any rally or public gathering in the city.
Opposition parties in the National Assembly walked out in protest on Friday.
In their efforts to prevent rallies in Lahore, Pakistani authorities sealed the borders of Sindh and Punjab provinces Thursday night. Transportation routes into Lahore from other cities was suspended Friday, and all PPP offices were sealed.
Punjab PPP President Qasim Zia told CNN the party submitted a formal application to the government, seeking permission to hold a rally upon Zardari's arrival. He criticized the government's actions against the party and warned the government of serious consequences if it tried to scuttle Saturday's reception.
CNN's Syed Mohsin Naqvi contributed to this report.
