Islamabad Mobilizes
the army and paramilitary rangers as protests erupt all over Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD — Protests erupted across Pakistan on Saturday, compelling the government to call out army troops and paramilitary rangers after nightfall to restore order in cities and towns filled with angry crowds.
The nationwide protests developed after security forces in the capital fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators camped on a highway interchange outside Islamabad. The demonstrators fought back with clubs and stones. Hundreds of injuries were reported, with at least six people dead, according to accounts.
Demonstrators had initially called for a federal minister to be fired, but by midday, many were demanding that the entire government step down. By evening, police had retreated and the protesters had regrouped, with more supporters joining them.
The confrontation came four months after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was ousted by the Supreme Court, leaving the country in the hands of a caretaker prime minister and cabinet from Sharif ’s party.
The protests began on Nov. 8 over a proposed change in election laws — just a few words — that weakened an oath all candidates must repeat, swearing they believe that Muhammad was the final prophet. Pakistan’s population is 95 percent Muslim.
The government swiftly apologized for the “clerical error,” but protest leaders pushed for further action, especially the firing of the law minister, Zahid Hamid.
As the day progressed, other demonstrators shut down sections of Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore and filled public squares and crossroads across the vast country of 207 million.
Officials blocked television news channels, but information traveled by phone and text messages. Protesters injured a legislator from the ruling party and vandalized the home of law minister Hamid.
The protests were spearheaded by a movement dedicated to defending the honor of Muhammad and the country’s strict laws against religious blasphemy. The leader, Maulvi Khadim Allama Hussain Rizvi, remained at the Faizabad intersection all day, wearing a gas mask and using a wheelchair because of a permanent disability. According to reports, he chanted slogans praising the “finality of the prophet” and welcoming new protesters.
The police assault at Faizabad had been delayed for days, as Rizvi and his followers ignored numerous deadlines to disperse. Facing thousands of security forces, the protesters resisted for hours. Meanwhile, reports of sympathetic rallies elsewhere created a growing sense of confrontation and loss of government control.
“We are winning, and we will be on the roads as long as the government stays,” said Sayed Sabtain, 26, a protester in Faizabad.
In Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, a Washington Post correspondent reported that many shopping areas had been shut down amid throngs of protesters, with dozens injured. As crowds gathered near the city’s international airport, some flights were canceled.
For days, as protests snarled traffic for hours, the government attempted to negotiate. But several days ago, an Islamabad court called the protest an illegal “act of terror” and ordered the government to break it up.
The government gave a final dispersal deadline of midnight Friday, and at dawn the police assault commenced.
Hussain reported from Rawalpindi. The Washington Post’s Nisar Medhi in Karachi and Haq Naqaz Khan in Peshawar contributed.