Islamabad, Pakistan (August 31, 2014): At least two protesters were killed and 450 others were killed following a crackdown on the protesters by the police on Sunday. However, cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri claimed that seven of his supporters were killed in the clashes. The clashes took place after Imran Khan and Qadri directed supporters to rush to Nawaz Sharif’s residence.
Opposition leader Imran Khan vowed to fight till death on Sunday and asked Pakistanis to rebel against the illegal regime of Nawaz Sharif after the death of the protesters.
“I request all the nation, civil servants, bureaucrats and police to rebel against this illegal government,” Khan told his supporters.
Police crackdown on protesters in Pakistan
The cricketer-turned-politician asked officials to ignore all illegal orders from the PMN-L party-led government.
His comments came hours after police baton-charged hundreds of anti-government protesters led by Khan and Canada-based fiery cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri who marched towards Sharif’s residence in the high-security ‘Red Zone’ here demanding his resignation.
The clashes started after Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) chief Qadri ordered their supporters to shift the protest venue in the front of the residence of Prime Minister Sharif to force him to quit.
A The Guardian report claimed that the police fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters outside the Prime Minister’s official residence and the adjacent Parliament building.
Hundreds of protesters entered the lawn of Parliament but they were pushed back at the main entrance of the building, where the army was deployed.
About 450 injured were brought to the Polyclinic and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, the two premier state-run hospitals, a government official said.
A police official said over 70 policemen and five Frontier Constabulary personnel were injured in clashes with protesters armed with sticks, catapults and stones.
Qadri’ PAT in is twitter account claimed that seven of its supporters were killed in police action, but figures could not be verified officially.