Tension rises as marchers close in on Islamabad

SUPPORTERS of the government and protesters loyal to opposition leader Imran Khan clashed during the second day of a march designed to force Pakistan’s prime minister to resign and call new elections.

The clashes are sure to heighten tensions ahead of the rally’s arrival in the capital, Islamabad. Already the protest movement represents the biggest challenge to prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s year-old government, which has virtually shut down the capital in anticipation of the rally.

Mr Khan’s convoy was in the city of Gujranwala when dozens of Sharif supporters pelted it with stones and shoes, he said. He was unharmed.

The protesters, who left the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday, were expected to arrive in Islamabad late last night and have vowed to camp out until their demands for government change are met.

Two separate rallies are bearing down on the capital. One is led by Mr Khan, a former cricket star who now heads the thirdlargest party in parliament. The second is led by a fiery anti-Taleban cleric, Tahir-ul-Qadri.

Both Mr Khan and Mr Qadri have said they will draw one million of their followers into Islamabad. So far, a few thousand are estimated to be travelling with both, though those numbers could swell when they reach the outskirts of Islamabad.

Ahead of the rally, thousands of riot police were deployed. Authorities set up shipping containers to block traffic and cut off mobile phones in some areas.

Interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan apologised on Thursday for the city’s paralysis, insisting the measures were for residents’ own safety and warning demonstrators they would be dealt with “an iron hand” if they try to disrupt law and order.