(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-11-09 20:44

"We have neither received any house arrest order nor any personnel approached us to convey this," said Nazir Dhoki, in charge of the PPP media cell. "We are going to take out our procession as scheduled. We shall take our procession to Rawalpindi."

Supporters of Bhutto, chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party planned to hold a rally in Rawalpindi, a city some 30kms south from Islamabad, against the state of emergency imposed last Saturday by President General Pervez Musharraf.

The Pakistani government has deployed some 6,000 police officers in Rawalpindi to prevent the rally.

Police Friday completely sealed off the venue for the protest in the garrison city adjacent to Islamabad.

Political gatherings have been banned under the emergency decree.

Saud Aziz, the Rawalpindi police chief, said that "under no circumstances" will the rally be allowed. He said: "The law will take its course against anyone who defies it."

PPP claimed that police had arrested 5,000 of its supporters since Wednesday to head off the major rally.

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