Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistani opposition leader, was placed under house arrest for three days early this morning to stop him from joining an anti-government protest march that has raised fears of a return to military rule.
Hundreds of riot police surrounded his home in the eastern city of Lahore after negotiations with the government collapsed, despite the intervention of Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State.
Police moved in after Mr Sharif, a former Prime Minister, gave a rousing speech to his supporters last night, urging them to take to the streets to "fight this obsolete system" of government.
"The winds of change are blowing, and nobody can stop them," he said.
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"Whoever tries to stop them will be destroyed."
Similar restrictions were imposed on other opposition leaders including Imran Khan, the former cricketer turned politician, to prevent them from joining the “long march” to Islamabad, the capital, today to demand the re-instatement of several judges. However Mr Khan's aides said he had evaded police and was in hiding, preparing to make his way to the capital.
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