Related News
Pakistan clashes don’t deter Khan
Print Edition
PAKISTANI opposition leader Imran Khan vowed yesterday to protest “until the last breath” as ongoing clashes between his supporters and police outside the prime minister’s residence in Islamabad left three dead and hundreds injured.
The violence began on Saturday night after thousands of supporters of Khan and firebrand cleric Tahir ul Qadri tried to storm Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s house using cranes to remove barricades.
By yesterday afternoon clashes were continuing between police in riot gear and a few hundred protesters. Many protesters had come armed with batons and slingshots.
Shipping containers were set ablaze, several vehicles stood torched, and hundreds of tear gas canisters lay strewn on the ground on Islamabad’s normally pristine Constitution Avenue following more than 15 hours of battle.
The opposition groups marched to the capital on August 15 demanding the resignation of Sharif, triggering a crisis that has raised the specter of military intervention.
They claim the 2013 election which swept Sharif to power was rigged, though local and foreign observers rated the polls as relatively fair and credible.
Speaking from on top a container, Khan said: “Now I ask all Pakistanis: rise up against this government. This is not a constitutional government — they are killers.
“We will continue until our last breath. I urge all Pakistanis to come out,” adding he would file murder charges against Sharif for the violence.
Earlier, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid had said that the government remained open to restarting negotiations.
“They wanted their demands to be met at gunpoint but still, our doors are open for talks.”
The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences reported three deaths — two men from injuries sustained in the fighting and another who died of a heart attack.
At least 480 injured, including 118 women and 10 children, were rushed to the city’s two major hospitals. At least 92 police were among the wounded.
The crisis took on a new dimension last Thursday after it was announced the country’s powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif would mediate.
Observers believe that if Sharif survives the crisis it will be at the cost of significant concessions to the army — including allowing ex-army chief Pervez Musharraf, currently on trial for treason, to leave the country.
Javed Hashmi, a senior member of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (Movement for Justice) party broke ranks yesterday, saying the protest had gone too far.
“How can I side with you when you march on the parliament? There is hardly any distance left between us and martial law,” he told a press conference.
The protest leaders have drawn thousands to the streets of Islamabad, but their call has not mobilized mass support in a country of 180 million people.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
