ISLAMABAD, Sept 22: In a surprise move, the government on Saturday night launched a crackdown on the leadership of the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM), detaining some opposition leaders in a bid to pre-empt their plan to stage a demonstration outside the Supreme Court building on Monday.

Informed sources told Dawn that acting PML-N president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, MNA Tehmina Daultana and MMA leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmed had been served detention orders at their apartments in the Parliament Lodges.

Another MMA member of the National Assembly, Mian Mohammad Aslam, was picked from his residence and taken to the Adiyala jail. According to the sources, a police contingent raided the house of MMA President Qazi Hussain Ahmed, but failed to arrest him as he had already left the place. Another police team tried to arrest Syed Mohammad Bilal, the chief of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Islamabad.

Brig (retd) Javed Iqbal Cheema, a spokesman for the ministry of interior, confirmed the move, saying that the government had taken the step to maintain law and order in the wake of a call by the APDM to besiege the Supreme Court, which was expected to return a verdict on Tuesday on petitions challenging Gen Musharraf’s candidature for the office of president.

Hafiz Hussain Ahmed and Makhdoom Javed Hashmi confirmed having received the detention orders, saying they had been asked to be ready to move to the Adiyala prison any time in the night for a 30-day jail term.

A handout issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Islamabad stated that “in view of calls given by certain elements of political parties of taking out processions on roads and adjacent to sensitive public buildings, pre-emptive arrests have been initiated in Islamabad”.

It further said: “Keeping in view the sensitive security environment and for maintenance of tranquillity and security of public, certain leaders encouraging unregulated and unlawful public assembly have been detained under the MPO (Maintenance of Public Order).”

The sources said that a heavy contingent of police had surrounded the Parliament Lodges and residences of some other opposition leaders in different sectors of Islamabad.

Jamaat’s information secretary Shahid Shamsi said the crackdown would not intimidate the APDM into calling off its demonstration.