Around 498 people have been wounded in clashes between police and protesters in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, hospital officials said Sunday, as a fortnight-long political impasse took a violent turn.
The violence, which began late Saturday and continued early Sunday, erupted after around 25,000 people marched from parliament to the prime minister's house, where some attempted to remove barricades around it with cranes, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
Police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Islamabad police chief Khalid Khattak told AFP that police exercised restraint but the protesters were armed with axes, wire cutters and hammers.
"They had a crane and drove it until the entrance of the presidency. We are using only tear gas and firing rubber bullets where needed," Khattak said.
Railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said protesters tried to uproot the entry gate of the prime minister's house.
The protesters, led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and populist cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, had been camped outside parliament house since August 15 demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif quit amid allegations of vote rigging.
The injured were rushed to Islamabad's two main hospitals, and the number of casualties is expected to rise as clashes continue.
Demonstrations have also erupted in the eastern city of Lahore and the port city of Karachi.
Khan and Qadri claim the 2013 elections which saw Sharif sweep to power were massively rigged.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Pakistan: Clashes between police, protesters continue, 498 injured
Around 498 people have been wounded in clashes between police and protesters in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, hospital officials said Sunday, as a fortnight-long political impasse took a violent turn.
The violence, which began late Saturday and continued early Sunday, erupted after around 25,000 people marched from parliament to the prime minister's house, where some attempted to remove barricades around it with cranes, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
Police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Islamabad police chief Khalid Khattak told AFP that police exercised restraint but the protesters were armed with axes, wire cutters and hammers.
"They had a crane and drove it until the entrance of the presidency. We are using only tear gas and firing rubber bullets where needed," Khattak said.
Railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said protesters tried to uproot the entry gate of the prime minister's house.
The protesters, led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and populist cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, had been camped outside parliament house since August 15 demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif quit amid allegations of vote rigging.
The injured were rushed to Islamabad's two main hospitals, and the number of casualties is expected to rise as clashes continue.
Demonstrations have also erupted in the eastern city of Lahore and the port city of Karachi.
Khan and Qadri claim the 2013 elections which saw Sharif sweep to power were massively rigged.
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