Pakistan opposition leaders held

Police said the arrests were due to the "prevailing security threat"

Police in Pakistan have detained key opposition figures who had vowed to begin protests to disrupt President Pervez Musharraf's bid for re-election.

Hundreds of activists belonging to the umbrella group All Parties Democratic Movement are also being held.

They are from the PML-N party of exiled former PM Nawaz Sharif and hardline Islamists of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam.

Gen Musharraf is seeking re-election next month by the federal and provincial assemblies.

Disruption

Police officials said the opposition leaders had been taken into temporary custody for the maintenance of public order.

It is not known how many senior leaders have been held so far - estimates vary from four to 35.

But among them was Javed Hashmi, acting leader of the PML-N and party chairman Raja Zafarul Haq.

I am wanted by the Musharraf regime along with other opposition leaders for whom they have issued a 30-day detention order which goes well beyond General Musharraf's illegal, unconstitutional presidential elections Ehsan Iqbal PML-N leader

Mr Hashmi said Gen Musharraf's Western backers should press the military-led government to uphold the same democratic standards that they enjoy.

"They are ruling the country with a gun in hand," Mr Hashmi said at his apartment, where four armed police stood guard outside.

"They think that the [military] uniform, not the people of Pakistan, are the source of power."

Also detained was Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, from the radical Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam.

A number of other prominent opposition figures have gone into hiding.

They are said to include former cricketer Imran Khan.

Ehsan Iqbal, from Mr Nawaz Sharif's party, told the BBC he had gone into hiding after his house was raided.

"I am wanted by the Musharraf regime along with other opposition leaders for whom they have issued a 30-day detention order which goes well beyond General Musharraf's illegal, unconstitutional presidential elections," he said.

Opposition parties have vowed to disrupt Gen Musharraf's attempt to be re-elected by federal and provincial assemblies for a fresh term in office.

They say he is not constitutionally qualified to run for a second term while he still holds the powerful position of Pakistan's army chief.

General Musharraf has offered to resign his military post, but only after he is voted in as president for the new term on 6 October.

Gen Musharraf is determined to get re-elected with his uniform on

But the All Parties Democratic Movement has announced that its lawmakers might resign from parliament to deny legitimacy to Gen Musharraf's re-election.

The authorities may also feel the opposition is weak and divided, therefore an easy target, says the BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad.

So far demonstrations have been small, drawing only dedicated activists.

The largest religious party is not fully behind the opposition's plans and the largest secular party, headed by Benazir Bhutto, is not part of the opposition alliance.

Polls show Gen Musharraf is deeply unpopular, but people are preoccupied with other matters, like rising food prices, our correspondent says.

And no international backlash is expected, especially after the United States failed to criticise the deportation of Nawaz Sharif, she says.