Pakistani police arrested cricket legend Imran Khan and said he would be charged under anti-terrorism laws after he emerged from hiding to join a student protest on Wednesday.
His detention came as former premier Benazir Bhutto hammered the phones from under house arrest in an attempt to forge a united opposition front against a state of emergency imposed by President Pervez Musharraf.
Appearing in public for the first time since he slipped out of detention last week, Mr Khan was grabbed by Islamist students when he tried to take part in a rally at a university in Lahore.
He was lifted onto the shoulders of demonstrators but punches flew when he was seized by a crowd of radicals then pushed into a nearby building. He was later bundled into a white van and handed over to police.
"He will be charged under the anti-terrorism act," Lahore police chief Malik Mohammad Iqbal told AFP.
"Through his speeches he has been inciting people to pick up arms, he has been calling for civil disobedience, he was spreading hatred," chief Iqbal said.
Mr Khan, who has founded a small but vocal opposition party, called for General Musharraf to be hanged for treason after the military ruler imposed emergency rule on November 3.
He was being held in custody under a 90-day detention order, and police sources said he was being moved to prison shortly ahead of being formally charged.
"I came to the university to lead a rally of students against the dictator Musharraf and his illegal actions," Mr Khan earlier told AFP by telephone from police custody as he was whisked away from the campus.
"I have achieved my purpose. I have started the student movement."
Mr Khan's reappearance comes amid mounting domestic and international calls for General Musharraf to lift the state of emergency ahead of crunch general elections due by January 9. © 2007 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Comment and add to the story without registration, but keep the comments meaningful please. Links are not accepted.
