Dozens Held as Pakistan Bans May Day Rallies
Heavy police contingents deployed in the provincial capital Lahore did not allow workers and their leaders to stage a march and arrested people who violated the order, they said.
The Lahore police also detained 20 women as they tried to hold a procession from the northern part of the city.
Another 14 people including some leaders of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) were arrested at Lahore Airport before they could board a plane for Karachi to attend a May Day rally there, witnesses said.
The military government has already banned the rally in Karachi planned for Tuesday by an 18-party alliance for the restoration of democracy which groups both the PPP and deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League.
"We have arrested these people because they were shouting slogans," Lahore Deputy Inspector General of Police Javed Noor told AFP.
PPP Provincial President Qsim Zia and Central Executive Committee member Sajid Mir were among those detained at the airport, he said.
Officials of the All Pakistan Trade Union said police denied them permission to stage rallies.
"They have told us that we cannot bring out processions because the government has banned outdoor activities," union leader Mohammad Ishaq said.
Police officer Noor said: "So far as we are concerned we are determined to establish the writ of the law."
Pakistan Workers Federation said an indoor meeting was arranged in a hall in Lahore but police stopped dozens of workers coming from other cities.
Working Women Organization President Rubina Jameel condemned the "unwarranted" police action against peaceful labor activities.
Pakistani military ruler General Pervez Musharraf in his May Day message said workers and employers should work together to contribute to social and economic development of the country.
Musharraf who came to power in an October 1999 coup, said the government expected that "mutual trust will be established between the employers and workers."