Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Imran Khan, Pakistan's cricket captain turned lawmaker, was arrested under emergency rule, hindering former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's attempts to unite opposition to President Pervez Musharraf.

Khan was driven away by authorities after he was detained at Punjab University in Lahore, said Ahmed Awais, spokesman for his Tehrik-e-Insaaf party.

Bhutto, under house arrest in the same city, yesterday scrapped an agreement to share power with the president and said she'd join opposition parties to persuade Musharraf to quit the presidency. Her party today condemned the detention of Khan, the third leader detained or exiled as Musharraf rebuffs pressure from the U.S. to prepare for elections.

Musharraf said he expects to step down as the country's army chief by the end of November and begin a new presidential term as a civilian, the Associated Press reported today. ``It will lead the country to chaos if I do not handle the political environment now with me remaining as the president,'' Musharraf told AP.

There is ``only one message Musharraf is sending to the whole world by these arrests,'' Ahsan Iqbal, spokesman for exiled former premier Nawaz Sharif said in a phone interview. ``That he cannot hold free and fair elections with the entire opposition behind bars.''

Opposition Arrests

Opposition parties say 15,000 supporters have been detained since Musharraf suspended the constitution on Nov. 3, sacked his chief justice and imposed curbs on the media. Before the imposition of emergency rule and the subsequent detentions of Bhutto and Khan, the Pakistani authorities Sept. 10 arrested Sharif at Islamabad International Airport and deported him to Saudi Arabia after he tried to return from exile to lead a campaign against Musharraf.

``We strongly condemn Imran Khan's arrest,'' Farhatullah Babar, spokesman for Bhutto, said in a phone interview from Lahore. ``We demand the immediate release of all political workers.'' Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the Pakistan People's Party's Punjab president, was arrested after leading a rally, he said.

Khan will be charged under anti-terrorism legislation, Agence France-Presse reported, citing Lahore police. Khan ``through his speeches has been inciting people to pick up arms,'' AFP cited Lahore Police Chief Malik Mohammad Iqbal as saying.

Concern About `Breakdown'

Khan's detention comes a day after Musharraf's government rejected international criticism of emergency rule. The government was forced to act to ``avert an institutional breakdown,'' the Foreign Ministry said in a statement yesterday, adding Pakistan ``will follow its own road map'' to democracy.

The U.S. continued to press Musharraf to reverse his emergency decree.

``We don't see how it is possible to have free and fair elections under emergency rule,'' Dana Perino, President George W. Bush's spokeswoman, said today in Washington. Pakistanis should be ``allowed to peacefully protest, to assemble, and to express their views.''

Bush is sending Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte to Pakistan this week make the case directly to Musharraf, who the U.S. regards as a vital ally in the battle against terrorists. The U.S. has given Musharraf's government more than $10 billion in aid since 2001.

Bhutto says the army chief has plunged the nuclear-armed nation into crisis and wants Bush to withdraw support to convince Musharraf to quit as president.

Decision for U.S.

``Washington has to make a critical decision now,'' Bhutto said in a telephone interview yesterday from Lahore. ``In the past, we've tried to find solutions around Musharraf, but now public opinion isn't allowing that. I certainly hope that Washington will go with the people of Pakistan.''

Bhutto said her party may boycott parliamentary elections scheduled for Jan. 9 if Musharraf doesn't leave office. She said power-sharing talks with him are over.

Khan spoke with Bhutto yesterday and said he supported her call for Musharraf to step down as president.

Khan, who earlier escaped from house arrest in Lahore, was trying to mobilize student opposition to Musharraf when he was arrested, in a nation where two-thirds of the population is under 25 years of age. About 2,000 student supporters, many wearing black armbands, had shouted anti-Musharraf slogans as riot police waited outside, though Khan was detained by religious students before he was taken away by the authorities.

Rallying Students

``I came to the university to lead a rally of students against the dictator Musharraf and his illegal actions,'' Khan told AFP in a phone interview after his arrest. ``I would have presented myself for arrest in full public view but my goal was to set in motion a student movement.'' He said he was betrayed by student supporters of Islamic parties.

Khan, 54, played for Pakistan's cricket team for more than two decades, leading the team to its first and only victory in the 1992 cricket world cup.

A native of Mianwali in the province of Punjab, Khan started the charitable Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Center in Lahore after retiring from cricket.

The Oxford graduate founded the Movement for Justice Party in 1996, with a pledge to rid the country of corrupt politicians. He is the only member of his party to hold a position in the 342-seat National Assembly.

``It seems like our student supporters reacted this way because of an ego issue,'' said Ameer-ul-Azeem, spokesman for Jamaat-e-Islami, a religious party. ``They didn't want Imran to steal their limelight. We condemn this action.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Khalid Qayum in Lahore on kqayum@bloomberg.net; Farhan Sharif in Karachi at fsharif2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 14, 2007 15:05 EST