Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who last month survived Pakistan's worst terror attack, will press ahead with a rally the government has outlawed as opposition groups said more than 15,000 supporters have been arrested under emergency rule.

``All banners, rallies and long marches are outlawed and are illegal,'' deputy Information Minister Tariq Azeem said in a phone interview from Islamabad today. ``Those who break the law will be dealt with and the law is the same for everyone, including the Pakistan People's Party,'' he said, referring to Bhutto's party.

Bhutto, detained in Islamabad on Nov. 9 before a protest, may be arrested again to prevent her leading a march from Lahore back to the capital, Farhatullah Babar, Bhutto's spokesman said.

President Pervez Musharraf pledged yesterday to hold elections by Jan. 9 after a week of pressure from President George W. Bush to restore civilian rule. Opponents say a free and fair ballot will be impossible under the emergency, which banned public gatherings and took television news networks off the air.

``The way Musharraf has been dealing with the opposition it is very likely that Bhutto may be put under house arrest,'' said Suba Chandran, assistant director at New Delhi-based Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies. ``The rally will be a muted affair.''

Musharraf amended the 1952 Army Act yesterday, enabling authorities to try civilians in military courts. The Supreme Court asked the general to respond to a challenge filed by Zafar Mahmood, a lawyer in Islamabad, that the emergency is illegal.

U.S. Pressure

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday called on Musharraf to lift emergency rule ``as soon as possible.''

Pakistan is a U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups operating along the mountainous border with Afghanistan. The U.S. has said it would review aid to the South Asian country in response to the emergency decree, although it wouldn't cut funding for counterterrorism operations.

There is ``no danger'' of Pakistan's nuclear weapons ``falling into wrong hands,'' said a foreign office statement today. ``The highest level of institutionalized protection is accorded to Pakistan's strategic assets to ensure their safety and security.''

Protests against emergency rule are being led by Bhutto, 54, who returned from eight years of self-imposed exile last month to lead her Pakistan People's Party in parliamentary elections. She has demanded the constitution and citizens' rights be restored and curbs on the media be lifted.

Bhutto will lead demonstrators tomorrow because Musharraf didn't say when he'd lift the emergency nor give a date for stepping down from his army post, Babar said.

No Election Decision

``We haven't decided whether we will participate in elections or not,'' he said. ``We are planning to go ahead with the march and a lot of activities are under way.''

More than 7,500 workers from Bhutto's party have been arrested, spokeswoman Sherry Rehman said in a phone interview from Lahore.

At least 5,000 supporters from former premier Nawaz Sharif's group have been detained, Ahsan Iqbal, spokesman for the party said in a phone interview from Islamabad.

``Most of our senior leaders, at least 12 of them, are under arrest or detained,'' Iqbal said. ``The rest of us are in hiding.''

As many as 2,500 supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami, a religious party, have been arrested, spokesman Munawar Hassan said. Another 600 workers of the Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal, a coalition of religious parties, have also been held, Liaquat Baloch, spokesman for the alliance said on the phone.

`Lull Before The Storm'

``This is the lull before the storm,'' said Ahmed Awais, a spokesman for opposition lawmaker Imran Khan. ``The government is pushing society into a position where people from all levels will come out onto the streets to fight.''

Khan, Pakistan's former cricket captain and chairman of the Tehreek-e-Insaaf party, said yesterday he is mobilizing students from universities across the country to lead street protests.

Musharraf, facing the stiffest opposition to his rule since he took power in a 1999 military coup, suspended Pakistan's constitution Nov. 3 and fired Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry, saying judicial interference in government affairs was hampering the fight against terrorism.

The emergency decree came as Pakistan's Supreme Court was nearing a decision on the legality of Musharraf's re-election last month to a second five-year term as president while remaining army chief.

Chaudhry Turmoil

Musharraf yesterday said Chaudhry had caused ``turmoil'' in the nation by ``paralyzing the government and humiliating'' law enforcement officials. Chaudhry has called on Pakistani lawyers to struggle against emergency rule and asked government officers to implement the constitution.

Musharraf first fired Chaudhry in March, sparking nationwide protests until a Supreme Court panel of judges ordered in July he be reinstated.

``This time our leaders are all under arrest but our mindset of resistance is still the same,'' Rukhsana Razi, a High Court lawyer, said in an interview in Karachi. ``We refuse to go to the courts and we are reorganizing ourselves to generate an effective street movement.''

Bhutto became the first woman prime minister of a Muslim state in 1988. She holds a moderate view of Islam and maintains close contacts with the Bush administration, making her a potential target for extremists in the world's largest Muslim nation after Indonesia.

The Oxford and Harvard graduate, who was prime minister twice between 1988 and 1996, is the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, executed by the military government of Zia ul-Haq after a coup in 1979.

Bhutto was sentenced to five years in jail in 1999 on charges of amassing property and bank accounts while in power, and then allowed to leave for exile in London. A suicide bomb attack on Bhutto's homecoming rally in Karachi last month killed at least 136 people.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jay Shankar in Bangalore, India on jshankar1@bloomberg.net; Khaleeq Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan on paknews@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 12, 2007 11:57 EST