Shahbaz gives police a slip, goes into hiding

Pakistan's opposition PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif today gave a slip to police and went into hiding before he could be served orders for his house arrest, a party spokesman said.

Pakistan's opposition PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif on Sunday gave a slip to police and went into hiding before he could be served orders for his house arrest, a party spokesman said.

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Shahbaz, former Punjab Chief Minister, whose party is supporting the anti-government 'Long-March' set to culminate with a sit-in near Parliament in Islamabad, had gone to the home of PML-N leader Chaudhry Tanveer Khan in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, which was surrounded by a large contingent of security personnel.

After a cat-and-mouse game with police who had arrived at the Rawalpindi house to serve detention orders, Shahbaz slipped away and went into hiding, PML-N spokesman Siddique-ul-Farooq said.

A large number of PML-N workers had also gathered outside the house where Shahbaz stopped for some time on the eve of the sit-in by the lawyers and opposition activists, who have been demanding restoration of the judges sacked during the 2007 emergency rule by the then President Pervez Musharraf.