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Facebook ISLAMABAD, Pakistan  Pakistan cracked down on dissidents Sunday, intensifying its political crisis before marches planned for today. The Bush administration expressed dismay but said it would continue to back a key ally in the region's counterterrorism efforts. CRACKDOWN: Pakistan government detains opposition Q&A: What's next for the situation in Pakistan? Up to 500 people, including political leaders and activists, were detained after President Pervez Musharraf's decision to suspend constitutional rights, according to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that she was "disappointed" in what she called a setback to democracy and that roughly $150 million a month in U.S. aid to Pakistan would be put under review. However, Washington has been reluctant to turn its back on a nuclear-armed government that is an ally in combating Islamist militants, and White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Sunday that "we're obviously not going to do anything that will undermine the war on terror." Musharraf has helped combat al-Qaeda terrorists and pro-Taliban extremists along the Pakistani-Afghan border. Musharraf has said that the state of emergency instituted during the weekend was necessary to keep Islamist extremists from toppling his government. Opposition leaders said the unpopular military leader was exaggerating the threat so he could stay in power. Pakistan's Supreme Court was to meet this week to debate the validity of his recent re-election. "This is a defining moment for Pakistan," said Ahsan Iqbal, spokesman for the Pakistan Muslim League opposition party. Iqbal and Qazi Anwar, a former senator and legal activist, said Pakistani lawyers and opposition politicians planned a "Black Monday" of protests across Pakistan for today. Troops and police rounded up hundreds of party members Sunday, Iqbal said. Reached by telephone, Iqbal said he was in hiding after fleeing his house minutes before a police raid Saturday night. The party's president was arrested Sunday outside his home. Two hundred police raided the Lahore offices of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and arrested 50 activists, commission official Mehbood Ahmed Khan told the Associated Press. "They dragged us out," he said. "It's inhuman, undemocratic and a violation of human rights." Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who returned to Pakistan last month as part of a U.S.-brokered deal to return the country to civilian rule, condemned Musharraf's actions as a "power grab." Aziz said parliamentary elections planned for January could be postponed a year. Wiseman reported from Hong Kong. Contributing: Wire reports Share this story: Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook Enlarge U.S. Embassy via AP The review cited by Secreary of State Condoleezza Rice would look in part at whether some aid to Pakistan cannot continue because of U.S. legal restrictions that set conditions for governments to receive money. That probably would cover only a small amount of the $150 million a month that the United States currently gives to Pakistan. Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.