ISLAMABAD, Aug 7: A 20-member delegation of the Mazdoor Kissan Party (MKP), who had come to the capital from Lahore to hand over a memorandum to the US Embassy, were held hostage by police when they reached Masjid-i-Shuhda at Aabpara on Thursday.

According to a press release, the group of 20 MKP activists staged peaceful march at the Super Market and Aabpara and were to hand over a memorandum to the US embassy, but the police stopped them.

It said they were having tea in front of the Masjid-i-Shuhda at about 1:50pm when a big posse of the police force led by in charge of Aabpara police station Liaquat Niazi came to the spot. Mr Niazi announced that he would order their arrest in case they did not disperse.

When the demonstrators informed the police that they were staging peaceful protest in rows of twos, one of the sub- inspectors threatened them to stop taking tea and leave the place.