Former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto [Images], who has been put under detention at her house on Friday, said she was still "trying" to leave her house to lead her party rally in Rawalpindi against the emergency imposed by President Pervez Musharraf [Images].

"I am trying to get out (of the house) as I want to go to Rawalpindi," Bhutto told Geo News channel over phone.

Bhutto was "put under detention for unspecified period" after she tried to step out of her house here to lead her Pakistan People's Party rally in Rawalpindi on Friday.

"I am in front of my house in my car. I have not been arrested and no arrest warrant has been served on me. Large numbers of policemen are present here and there are barb wire barricades and blockades in front of me," she said.

Bhutto said police had baton-charged PPP workers in Peshawar and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to prevent them from going to Rawalpindi for the rally.

"People should try to go to Rawalpindi and I will also try to go there," she said.

"The government is saying I should not go out of the house because some suicide attackers have come to Islamabad. But if they know these suicide attackers are in Islamabad, I want to ask why they haven't been arrested?" Bhutto said.

Hundreds of policemen today surrounded Bhutto's residence in Islamabad to prevent her from going to Rawalpindi to lead a rally.

Earlier, defying the government's order that she should not leave her house "for her own security", Bhutto left her house at around 1.40 pm, but was stopped by policemen.

A magistrate served detention order on her and she was taken back to the house.