Several lawyers opposed to Musharraf arrested-judge

ISLAMABAD, Nov 3 (Reuters) Pakistani police arrested several lawyers opposed to President Pervez Musharraf today, a former judge said.

Earlier, Musharraf imposed emergency rule citing rising militancy and interference by the judiciary.

''We have confirmed reports of several lawyers' arrests in Quetta and Karachi and we have asked many others to go underground because police are conducting raids,'' Tariq Mehmud, a former judge who stood up to Musharraf when he took power in a bloodless coup in 1999, told Reuters.

Mehmud was part of the legal team led by Supreme Court Bar Association president Aitzaz Ahsan, who was detained earlier in Islamabad, that opposed Musharraf's bid for re-election last month while he was still army chief.

''We have called an emergency meeting tomorrow to chalk out a plan, although we are going to boycott courts all over Pakistan on Monday,'' Mehmud said.

Musharraf's decision to impose emergency rule came as he awaited a Supreme Court ruling on whether he was eligible to run for re-election last month while still army chief.

REUTERS PBB AS0035