AFP

Lahore, Mar 11: The eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Tuesday banned protests and rallies ahead of a planned "long march" by lawyers towards the capital Islamabad, officials said.

Lawyers and opposition parties are organising a march from March 12-16 to demand the reinstatement of supreme court chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and other judges sacked by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.

"A ban has been imposed on protests, rallies and display of weapons," commissioner Lahore Khusro Pervez said.

"Anyone violating the law and causing damage to the public property will be held accountable under the law."

Opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif vowed to defy the law and asked his supporters to go ahead with the protest despite the ban.

"The government can do whatever it can, but we will all reach Islamabad, come what may," Sharif told reporters here.

He reiterated appeals to the police and administration officials to disobey the government order to break up demonstrations.

"I urge the administration and police not to obey the illegal orders of the government to block the protests," he said.