'Hundreds held' in Pakistan rally

Thousands lined the route from Islamabad to Lahore

Hundreds of people have been arrested in Pakistan to prevent them attending a rally in support of the ousted chief justice, activists say.

Thousands lined the route as Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry travelled from Islamabad to the rally in Lahore.

Mr Chaudhry is expected to denounce what he says is an attempt by President Pervez Musharraf to sack him.

Mr Chaudhry was suspended for alleged abuse of office. Supporters say it is an attack on an independent judiciary.

Security concerns

Opposition parties said police raided homes to detain hundreds ahead of the rally.

Muhammad Ramzan of the Pakistan Bar Council said: "Thousands of people have joined the caravan of the chief justice despite the police preventing a large number of people from joining us."

Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry is accused of abuse of his position

People along Mr Chaudhry's route banged drums, chanted slogans, set off firecrackers and threw flower petals as his convoy passed.

Police have not confirmed the arrests.

The government had asked Mr Chaudhry not to travel by road to Lahore because of security concerns.

About 7,000 security personnel have been deployed for the rally.

A number of rallies have been held since Mr Chaudhry was suspended on 9 March but about 50,000 people turned up at Lahore, 300km (180 miles) south of the capital.

Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, is the most significant of the cities he has visited, the BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says.

Not only is it the headquarters of Pakistan's legal community, it is also the base of President Musharraf's political party, the Pakistan Muslim League, she says.

Mr Musharraf this week warned lawyers not to politicise the issue.

"This is a constitutional and judicial issue and those giving it a political tone will not be successful in their designs," he said.

It has been alleged that Mr Chaudhry illegally used his position in an attempt to procure a top police job for his son.

Mr Chaudhry, who became chief justice in 2005, has earned a reputation for challenging human rights abuses and government wrongdoing.