LAHORE, Dec 17: Students and members of civil society under the banner of the Students Action Committee (SAC) held a protest march from Nasser Bagh to Anarkali Chowk on Monday to condemn amendments to the Constitution recently made by President Musharraf despite they were threatened by the police a day before that the demonstrators would be arrested and beaten up.

A representative of the SAC said high-ranking police officials had telephoned several of their members and warned them of mass-arrests as well as violence against them if they went ahead and held their protest.

In addition, police attempted to ward off protesters on the day by telling those arriving at Nasser Bagh that the protest had been shifted to the Lahore Press Club.

“The threats by the police were just one reflection of how the state of emergency was lifted, but nothing restored, nothing changed,” the representative said.

Members of the SAC, civil society activists and representatives of the Committee for Democracy and Restoration of Law and Order to Pakistan (CDRLP) began to gather outside Nasser Bagh at 1pm, held aloft banners such as “Emergency lifted, nothing changed”, “Azadi” “Restore the judiciary” and chanted slogans such as “Torr raha hai Pakistan, aaj ke daur ka Yahya Khan”, “Zinda hain tulba zinda hain”, “Pakistan ke bais-i- tabhai...Pervez Musharraf aur Pervaiz Elahi” while they proceeded to Anarkali Chowk.

The police started haranguing the crowd, especially the students, to disperse. They claimed they would press charges against students if they did not wrap up immediately.

The protesters, however, did not pay heed to the warnings and instead continued to raise slogans at Anarkali Chowk, before finally returning to Nasser Bagh.

The SAC later released a statement condemning police action against students in Islamabad.

“The SAC’s Lahore chapter will stand up in solidarity with their Islamabad fellows and will not step down in fear of any threats,” the statement said.