UNITED NATIONS - UN chief Ban Ki-moon is "greatly concerned" about the imposition of emergency rule in Pakistan and urged the country's authorities to immediately release those detained and take steps for a return to democratic rule, his spokeswoman said Monday.
"The secretary general is greatly concerned about the recent developments in Pakistan and the imposition of emergency rule," spokeswoman Michele Montas said in a statement.
She added that the secretary general called on Pakistani rulers "to immediately release those detained, lift restrictions on the media and take early steps for a return to democratic rule."
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999, said growing Islamic extremism and hostile judges forced him to impose emergency rule. He suspended the constitution, sacked the nation's top judge and brought in strict media curbs.
Montas said that Ban expressed "strong dismay" at the detention of hundreds of human rights and opposition activists, including the UN special rapporteur on freedom and of religion and belief, Asma Jahangir.
The UN chief also appealed to Islamabad to hold parliamentary elections as scheduled.
UN human rights chief Louise Arbour also slammed the imposition of a state of emergency in Pakistan and the imprisonment of judges and politicians.
"A state of emergency should only be used to deal with a dire security threat to the nation, not to undermine the integrity and independence of the judiciary," the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement released in Geneva.
Arbour also voiced concern about reports that leading judges, lawyers and political activists had been detained or placed under house arrest, including Jahangir.
Meanwhile US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad said in answer to reporters' questions that the Security Council did not plan to raise the issue of Pakistan.
Earlier Monday, Pakistani police used tear gas and batons to crush protests by lawyers against President Pervez Musharraf, despite a torrent of worldwide outrage at the imposition of a state of emergency.
Dozens of lawyers were wounded and hundreds more arrested as protests erupted outside courtrooms in a number of cities on Monday, the first major show of public dissent since a clampdown across Pakistan on Saturday.
Officials said 1,500 people had been arrested across Pakistan since the weekend. "Police have detained potential troublemakers, law-breakers and those who defied a ban on rallies," interior ministry spokesman Javed Cheema said.
ga/sg
11/05/2007 17:44 GMT