More than 300 people were injured as Pakistani police battled throngs of protesters demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with tear gas, batons and rubber bullets outside the prime minister's official residence and the adjacent parliament building.
Pakistani policemen fire tear gas shell at protesters near Nawaz Sharif's residence in Islamabad on Saturday. AFP
Tehreek-ek-Insaf chief Imran Khan responded saying the Sharif government was terrorising the people of the country. Police action against the agitators should be condemned, he said, promising to file a First Information Report with the police against Sharif.
The clashes started after orders by Imran Khan and cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri on Saturday to shift their protest venue to the official residence of Sharif to force him resign immediately. At least 308 injured were brought to the Polyclinic and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, the two premier state-run hospitals, a Pakistani channel Duniya TV reported. One woman was killed in police firing.
Close to midnight, turmoil prevailed in the heart of Islamabad after a number of demonstrators refused to disperse from the protest site. Hundreds of protesters entered the lawn of parliament but they were stopped at the main entrance of the building where army soldiers were deployed.
Khan and Qadri are with the protesters and exhorting their supporters to force their way towards the PM's residence. Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said that protesters had committed a crime by attacking parliament which is a "symbol of democracy".
The clashes were continuing as police pushed them back with intense shelling of tear gas and rubber bullets. The situation was tense in the capital as a number of demonstrators refused to budge from the protest site. Both the leaders are agitating since August 14 against alleged rigging during last year general elections.
"I will lead the march to the PM House. All my supporters should follow me," Khan said asking women and children to stay behind until asked by him to join the march towards the PM House.
Khan's announcement came soon after a similar decision by Qadri. Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed blocking all the roads leading to the PM residence. Khan asked his supporters to remain peaceful and asked law enforcement agencies not to stop the agitators.
As tension mounted, Sharif left for Lahore. A late night government announcement categorically ruled out Sharif's resignation and there is no threat to his life.
On Saturday, the protesters used crane and bolt cutters to inch their way past a barricade of shipping containers as authorities rushed forces to deal with the volatile situation. Before the protesters set off on their march, the interior ministry announced that soldiers would be deployed to stop the protesters.
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