Islamabad,The opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Tuesday began its long march from Lahore to Islamabad to protest the state of emergency while party chief Benazir Bhutto, who was again placed under house arrest, demanded President Pervez Musharraf should quit.

According to a PPP leader, the marchers were being stopped by police en route the 290-km march.

"About 100 cars started moving towards Islamabad but were stopped by the police near Lahore," PPP leader Jehangir Badr said.

He said that more than 6,000 PPP leaders and workers had been arrested but "we will make every effort to continue our struggle against the dictatorship".

According to Badr, hundreds of thousands of people were ready to join the march but were being beaten and arrested by police. "We are confident that our people will manage to reach Islamabad and stage a protest there," he said.

Meanwhile, Bhutto has announced ending the power-sharing talks with President Musharraf after the imposition of emergency. She is under arrest at party leader senator Latif Khosa's house in Lahore, which has been declared a sub-jail.

PPP leader Zafar Masood said that Khosa House, where Bhutto is believed to be with some top party leaders, is under siege with barbed wire and barricades around it. "Khosa House is encircled by more than 1,000 police to stop her leading a rally against the emergency rule," Masood said.

According to reports, police have taken up positions behind sandbags at key points.

"The police have locked the gate of the house with heavy metal chains and parked an armoured personnel carrier outside. But we will still come out," Masood said.

However, Punjab Minister Raja Basharat said the long march had not been allowed due to security threats. He said PPP leaders were being taken into protective custody, adding "we have received requests by PPP leaders to provide them security".

Sherry Rehman, a senior PPP spokeswoman, said Bhutto "remains firm in her resolve to lead the long march as well as the nation out of this crisis".

In an interview to Sky News, Bhutto called upon Musharraf to step down as president and army chief.

"It is time for him to go. He must quit as president," Bhutto said, speaking to journalists outside Khosa House over a microphone from inside.

Earlier, after starting power-sharing talks with Musharraf, Bhutto had asked him to step down as army chief and become a civilian president. But after imposition of emergency, Bhutto said "Musharraf is unacceptable".

This is the second time in less than a week that Bhutto has been taken into custody after she announced demonstrations against Musharraf. On Nov 9, she was stopped from addressing a public rally in Rawalpindi and not allowed to leave her Islamabad residence.

"Negotiations between us have broken down over the massive use of police force ... There's no question now of getting this back on track because anyone who is associated with General Musharraf gets contaminated," Sky News quoted Bhutto as saying.

EMAIL THIS NEWS COMMENTS No comments yet