Tense stand-off in Pakistani capital as political crisis drags on

10 years ago | Posted in: Latest Politics News | 484 Views

Islamabad: A court in Pakistan ordered on Saturday that 100 opposition activists be sent to jail for holding illegal protests, prompting a tense confrontation between demonstrators and police in the centre of the capital.
Protesters led by Imran Khan, a former cricket star, and Tahir Ul Qadri, have been locked in a bitter stand-off with the government for weeks, refusing to leave their protest camp until Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigns.

On Saturday, a crowd of protesters gathered outside a court in Islamabad in a protest against its decision to send 100 activists to jail for two weeks, with some trying to slash the tyres of a police van and shouting “Go, Nawaz, go!”

Although the crowd eventually left peacefully after a two-hour stand-off with police, the episode highlighted just how nervous both sides of the conflict remained after talks to resolve the crisis failed several times.

Protest leaders accuse Sharif of rigging last year’s election which brought him back to power in a landslide and say they will not back down until he resigns – a demand Sharif has repeatedly rejected.

“The end of the incumbent government’s rule is near,” Qadri told domestic media on Saturday.

The confrontation turned violent last month, with thousands trying to storm Sharif’s house and briefly taking the state television channel off the air.

Violence in the usually quiet capital has alarmed many people in a nation where power has often changed hands though military coups rather than elections.

The army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its history, has stayed out of the conflict, urging both sides to find a political solution… see more

source: khaleejtimes

Tags: , , ,

Share it.

Leave a Reply

Related Posts