Cricket star pledges to oppose Musharraf

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Imran Khan, a star Pakistan cricket player turned politician, was in hiding Wednesday after escaping from home confinement, a report said.

Khan, the former captain of Pakistan's national team and now head of a small political party, promised to continue opposition to President Pervez Musharraf's suspension of the constitution, The Times of London reported Wednesday. Khan issued a statement through his ex-wife in Britain.

"The police have ransacked my house and ill-treated my family members," Khan said. "Our aim is to continue the struggle and mobilize the youth of the country from underground. This move of Musharraf’s will ignite militancy and extremism."

Musharraf has cracked down on dissent. When ousted Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, also under house arrest, spoke to protesters using his cell phone, authorities shut down cellular transmission for that entire neighborhood in Islamabad.