Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto will not be allowed to hold a motorcade procession planned for tomorrow from the city of Lahore to protest against emergency rule, a government official said.

Two-time Prime Minister Bhutto had earlier today urge Pakistanis of all shades to join the motorcade protest against President Pervez Musharraf's emergency rule and vowed it would  go ahead even if police tried to block her.

As darkness fell, hundreds of extra police moved in around the Lahore home of a party official where Bhutto was staying, setting up more barricades across streets, saying they were for her security. But party officials and guests were not stopped from coming and going into the house. Musharraf set off a storm of criticism when he imposed emergency rule on November 3. He suspended the constitution, sacked most judges, locked up lawyers, rounded up thousands of opposition and rights activists and curbed the media.

The crisis in the nuclear-armed country has raised fears about its stability and Musharraf has come under pressure from Western allies and political rivals to set Pakistan back on the path to democracy.

Bhutto plans to lead a 3-4 day, 270 km "long march" from Lahore to the capital Islamabad to demand Musharraf quit as army chief, end emergency rule, reinstate the constitution and free thousands of detained lawyers and opponents - including many from her party. But a government official said it would not be allowed,setting the scene for confrontation tomorrow when thousands of supporters are expected to converge on the neighbourhood to begin the procession.

"Rallies and protests are banned, they are not allowed," Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim Khan told Reuters when asked about the planned protest. "Whoever breaks the law will be taken to task," he said.

Police have said Bhutto could be the target of a suicide assassination bid, like the one that killed 139 people at a rally last month welcoming her back from eight years in self-exile.