Blood & tears as riots roar in 'Red Zone'

ISLAMABAD: At least two protestors including a woman were reportedly killed and hundreds others were injured in a violent riot control operation to disperse the marchers of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf outside Prime Minister House, Samaa reported.

“Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets on the protesters attempting to stage a sit-in in front of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's official residence”, an official said.

The clashes broke out when protesters who have been camped outside parliament for two weeks tried to storm the prime minister's house, using cranes to remove barricades.

Protesters of both the parties had been camped outside parliament since August 15 demanding Sharif quit, claiming the election which swept him to power last year was rigged.

"The police are continuing to fire tear gas to disperse them," an eyewitness at the scene said, adding that the shelling began when the protestors tried to remove some barricades located in front of the residences of the prime minister and president using cranes.

Hundreds Of Casualties

The injured were rushed to Islamabad's two main hospitals, and the number of casualties is expected to rise as clashes continue.

Dr Ayesha, a spokeperson for the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital in Islamabad, said that 164 injured people have been brought to his hospital, while the Poly Clinic hospital said it had received 124 wounded so far.

A second doctor at PIMS said 114 men, 33 women, five minors, and seven police officials were among were the wounded.

"There are 20 women among them and most have been affected by tear gas, but they all are in stable condition," Khurram Ghuman, a spokesman at Islamabad's Poly Clinic hospital (PCH) said.

"Also there are at least six children among the injured with one of them apparently lost as there was no one to claim him", sources in the PCH told Samaa.

Television pictures showed police in riot gear and some bloodied protesters being carried to ambulances.

According to latest reports the number of injured has risen up to 320.

Let's March On PM House

Earlier, both the parties decided to move their protest sit-ins from outside Parliament building to in front of Prime Minister House.

Ordering his workers to march towards PM House, Dr Qadri said," Move ahead to your next stopover peacefully. There should not be any violence, any militancy, any unconstitutional act. God be with you."

Later PTI leader, Imran Khan also gave his workers a similar call after which his followers started hotfooting towards the PM House.

Govt's Defiant Note

The state-owned Pakistan Television quoted defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif as saying: "No one would be allowed to enter inside the sensitive buildings."

"There are 1,600 to 2,000 trained terrorists. They have 200 women who are trained in the use of firearms and they have come with the intention of occupying state buildings," defence minister Khawaja Asif said.

"These are buildings that are symbols of the state," he said. "Their attempts are being resisted. And we will resist these with full force."

According to sources on the ground, thousands of riot police stood between the incoming marchers and the prime minister house.

PM Orders Restraint?

It was reported that Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif had directed the security personnel not to use brute force against the protestors.

"Securitymen have been officially told to exercise utmost restraint until further orders", sources told Samaa.

There was no word on the last-resort orders for the cops, paramilitary troops, or soldiers if a flashpoint was reached.

Teargas, Rubber Bullets

In a violent turn of events, police shot rubber bullets and teargassed the protestors as soon as they reached the PM house.

"The protestors resorted to throwing stones after the riot police unleashed the crackdown", sources told Samaa.

The tear gas shelling began when the protestors tried to remove some barricades in front of the building as well as other key government buildings.

"Many women, children, and elderly were lying unconscious at the scene of the clash. There was mayhem after the imported teargas started stinging protestors' eyes/skin", eyewitnesses told Samaa.

According to sources, panic ensued following the shelling and a resulting stampede also led to many casualties..

Paramilitary troops and soldiers standing guard to protect the PM's house as well as other sensitive installations have not yet been called into action.

PTI Woman Protestor Dies

A latest report says a protesting woman has died most probably owing to asphyxia caused by inhalation of too much poisonous teargas.

"A Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf woman protestor was killed by the firing of Islamabad police", Chairman PTI Imran Khan told Samaa.

Women & Children

Women and children have been prominent among both protest groups, and the rising number of casualties is set to further polarise the already embittered political atmosphere.

But government officials defended the use of force. "The demonstrators attacked first. They wanted to occupy the prime minister's house and stage a sit-in there," said Asif Kirmani, an aide of Sharif.

Qadri, however, said the government began the violence.

"The march is heading to its destination, we were peaceful but government began the bloodshed," he said.

Khan told Samaa during the violence that he was inside a shipping container in front of the prime minister's house. Qadri was in a bullet-proof car close to the scene, according television images.

The government earlier struck a defiant note, issuing a statement saying that Sharif would not be stepping down.

"There is no question of resignation or proceeding on leave by Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, nor any member from the government side has made such suggestion," the statement said.

Sharif had earlier dismissed the two-week old impasse as a "tiny storm" that would end soon.

Countrywide Protests

Riots broke out in the major cities of Pakistan after police cracked down on protestors in 'Red Zone.'

Protestors in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad, and other cities have launched protest demonstrations.

In Karachi, PTI and Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen are staging a sit-in at Numaish Chorangi, while Insafians also blocked the road by setting tyres on fire at Boat Basin. PTI workers are also protesting in the middle of Shara-e-Faisal, one of the major thoroughfares of metropolis. Another protest demo has started at Five Star Chowrangi.

On the other hand, angry PTI workers are also protesting in Lahore's Liberty Chowk. According to latest reports, riot police are following Islamabad suit in Lahore.

Storm In A Teacup?

Earlier Saturday, Sharif dismissed a political crisis triggered by protests aimed at unseating his government as "a tiny storm" that would be ended soon.

Thousands of supporters of opposition leader Imran Khan and populist cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri had been camped outside parliament since August 15 demanding Sharif quit, claiming the election which swept him to power last year was rigged.

"This is just a tiny storm, a tumult, which would be ended in a few days," Sharif told reporters in the eastern city of Lahore.

However, the "protest sit-in has caused massive loss to Pakistan's economy," he said, "we will retrieve that but they must realise that protests have affected the development projects."

More than a week of government efforts to negotiate an end to the standoff made little headway, with cricketer-turned-politician Khan being adamant that Sharif must resign.

But Sharif said all the demands had already been accepted.

"We have already accepted all their demands, of electoral reforms and establishment of a commission," Sharif said, referring to the judicial commission to investigate rigging claims.

Sharif added the findings of the judicial commission would be made public and would be acceptable to his government, but Khan again on Saturday rejected this and reiterated his demand of Sharif's resignation.

Sharif's government is also under fire since Thursday for asking army to mediate to end the two-week political crisis but Interior Minister Chaudhry Ali Nisar Khan told parliament on Friday the protesters' unwillingness to trust anyone had left no alternative but army mediation.

The country's powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif on Thursday held talks with Qadri and Khan in the standoff between the government and protesters.

The move has raised fears of increased military dominance over the civilian government in a country ruled for more than half its life by the army.

Khan alleges the 2013 general election that swept Sharif to power in a landslide was rigged, though international observers said the vote was largely free and fair.

Qadri has demanded wholesale changes to Pakistan's political system and called for an interim "unity government" while they are implemented.

The leaders have drawn thousands to the streets in Islamabad but their call has not mobilised mass support in a country of 180 million people.--SAMAA/Agencies

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