News In Brief

Political news stripped from Pakistani papers

Pakistani newspapers appeared Thursday without their usual sprinkling of political news and opposition statements after the military government banned all reporting on outlawed political parties.

Newspaper editors said the Information Ministry issued the ban Wednesday night, just after the opposition Movement for the Restoration of Democracy condemned the government's plan for elections by next March. The militant alliance vowed to boycott parliamentary elections this fall.

Students in all major cities boycotted classes and marched Wednesday to protest a government ban on student unions and the detention of about 100 students rounded up in past demonstrations.