Thousands of opposition demonstrators crowded the streets of the Pakistani capital for a second day Sunday, after a populist cleric issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding the arrest of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Protesters led by cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri and cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan have converged on Islamabad from the eastern city of Lahore to press their demands.
Security in Islamabad has been ramped up, with some 30,000 police and other security forces on the streets.
The government has agreed to let the two groups hold rallies but many streets have been blocked off with shipping containers to protect sensitive areas.
Khan Saturday called on Sharif to step down, lashing out at a government which he claims won power fraudulently in last year's general election.
Khan was due to outline his party's demands during an address to protesters later Sunday, Shireen Mazari, a spokeswoman for his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, told AFP.
"We will not go back until all our demands are accepted," Khan said earlier, calling for all the officials involved in alleged vote-rigging to be tried for treason.
Late Saturday he also warned Sharif to resign, saying his supporters would otherwise enter on Sunday the capital's high security "Red Zone" where top government buildings and embassies are located.
The May 2013 general election saw Sharif take power in a landslide, and international observers who monitored the polls said they were free and credible.
The protests are the culmination of a "long march" -- in reality a motorised cavalcade -- that set off Thursday from Lahore, around 300 kilometres (190 miles) away, to try to topple the government.
But the fiery speeches by Khan and Qadri were not matched by manpower. Just thousands of protesters remained in the capital as of Sunday evening as against a million people promised by the pair.
'Don't derail democracy'
Qadri has called for Sharif's arrest over what he alleges was the murder of his supporters, and for the installation of an interim national government.
The cleric, who late Saturday issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the government to accept his demands, said he would not be responsible for any repercussions if they were not met.
He said Sharif and his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif, who is chief minister of the largest province of Punjab, had no right to sit in government, their cabinets should be dissolved and they should be arrested on murder charges.
Ten workers of Qadri's Pakistan Awami Tehreek movement were killed in clashes with police at his headquarters in Lahore on June 17. A judicial commission was formed to investigate.
Addressing supporters Sunday, the cleric said that what he called a corrupt system of governance could not be changed without a revolution.
He said corruption and plundering of the national wealth was rampant and "we will not allow this system to continue any more".
"The country's survival will be at stake if Nawaz Sharif and his cronies are allowed to rule the country," Qadri said.
"We don't want mid-term elections... what we want is revolution."
Analysts warned there was no quick solution to the impasse.
"Apparently there are no signs that the government and the two parties are working towards a solution of the problem... both are sticking to their positions, leading to a deadlock," analyst Hasan Askari told AFP.
"If political leaders fail to resolve this problem and violence starts, then the initiative will shift to the military -- either to mediate the problem or see to it that the stalemate is resolved," he said.
"This will further increase the military's clout in Pakistan".
Senior politicians have intensified efforts to avert a crisis.
Siraj-ul-Haq, chief of the religious Jamat-e-Islami party, met the opposition leader in parliament's lower house, Syed Khursheed Shah, to discuss the situation.
"The entire nation is upset over what is happening in Islamabad... we have to steer the country out of this crisis with a cool mind," Haq told reporters after meeting Shah in Karachi.
"I am going to Islamabad on Monday where I will hold further consultations with other politicians," he said.
"We will not allow democracy to be derailed at any cost."
Shah, who is also a senior leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, said: "Our survival lies in upholding democracy and the constitution. We all have to sit together to find an amicable solution to the problem."
AFP
Mon Aug 18 2014
Pakistani riot police stand on shipping containers blocking a road, in front of supporters of cricketer-turned politician after a populist cleric issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding the arrest of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif - AFP PHOTO/AAMIR QURESHI
AWANI Ringkas: Taktik baharu scammer
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
AWANI 7:45 [20/04/2024] - Noktahkan kemiskinan Sabah | Belum tahu jumlah peruntukan pembangkang | Freedom Flotilla to Gaza | Thailand terima 10.72 juta pelancong asing
#AWANI745 malam ini bersama Dzulfitri Yusof;
1. Noktahkan kemiskinan tegar Sabah, kata PM
2. PN masih tunggu butiran MOU, peruntukan pembangkang
3. Freedom Flotilla jalani latihan anti keganasan sebelum ke Gaza
4. 1.3 juta pelancong Malaysia ke Thailand
1. Noktahkan kemiskinan tegar Sabah, kata PM
2. PN masih tunggu butiran MOU, peruntukan pembangkang
3. Freedom Flotilla jalani latihan anti keganasan sebelum ke Gaza
4. 1.3 juta pelancong Malaysia ke Thailand
Dua polis BSI ditahan bantu siasatan kes pemerasan
Dua anggota polis yang berkhidmat di Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) ditahan semalam, bagi membantu siasatan kes pemerasan melibatkan seorang lelaki tempatan yang bekerja di Singapura.
Malaysia-Thailand tingkat kerjasama atasi jenayah
Malaysia dan Thailand setuju tingkat kerjasama untuk membanteras jenayah rentas sempadan.
#AWANI745
#AWANI745
MCMC lapor polis terhadap Papagomo, Che Gu Bard dan Salim Iskandar
MCMC menegaskan pihaknya melaksanakan tugas dan tanggungjawabnya berpandukan Akta Komunikasi dan Multimedia 1998, dan kesemua undang-undang subsidiari yang terkandung di dalamnya.
#AWANI745
#AWANI745
Kursus Perdana Haji peringkat Wilayah Persekutuan
Hari ini bermula Kursus Haji Perdana secara berperingkat yang dianjurkan oleh Lembaga Tabung Haji.
Ini adalah persediaan terakhir kepada bakal Haji Malaysia untuk mempersiapkan diri sebagai tetamu Allah di tanah suci nanti.
#AWANI745
Ini adalah persediaan terakhir kepada bakal Haji Malaysia untuk mempersiapkan diri sebagai tetamu Allah di tanah suci nanti.
#AWANI745
1.39 juta pelancong Malaysia ke Thailand
Thailand terima ketibaan 10.72 juta pelancong asing termasuk 1.39 juta dari Malaysia.
#AWANI745
#AWANI745
Delegasi Malaysia jalani latihan anti keganasan
Latihan ini bagi mempersiapkan peserta dalam mendepani segala kenungkinan dan provokasi yang mungkin berlaku semasa pelayaran menghantar bantuan ke Gaza berlangsung.
Syaff Shukri di Istanbul, Turki ada perinciannya.
#AWANI745
Syaff Shukri di Istanbul, Turki ada perinciannya.
#AWANI745
Bekas tokoh Bersih lancar Projek SAMA, tingkat akauntabiliti
Tujuh bekas BERSIH pada Sabtu melancarkan sebuah organisasi yang memperjuangkan reformasi institusi dikenali sebagai Projek SAMA.
#AWANI745
#AWANI745
[TERKINI] Dua polis bsi ditahan bantu siasatan kes pemerasan
Dua anggota polis yang berkhidmat di Bangunan Sultan Iskandar di Johor Bahru ditahan bagi membantu siasatan kes pemerasan membabitkan seorang lelaki tempatan yang bekerja di Singapura.
Shehbaz Sharif diumum calon Perdana Menteri Pakistan
Pemimpin Liga Muslim Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif pilih adiknya, Shehbaz Sharif untuk mengetuai kerajaan baharu Pakistan.
Calon bebas disokong PTI dominasi Pilihan Raya Pakistan
Calon bebas yang mendapat sokongan parti bekas perdana menteri Imran Khan dilaporkan mendominasi PRU Pakistan selepas SPR mengumumkan keputusan rasmi pada Ahad.
Penduduk Lahore rai kemenangan dua pemimpin
Dua bekas Perdana Menteri Pakistan dan pesaingnya Nawaz Sharif dan Imran Khan mengisytiharkan kemenangan dalam pilihan raya meskipun dicemari penangguhan keputusan dan serangan militan pada Jumaat.
Larangan bertanding individu disabit jenayah ditarik semula
Keputusan ini membuka jalan kepada bekas Perdana Menteri Nawaz Sharif bertanding bagi jawatan itu, untuk kali keempat.
Mahkamah Pakistan batal sabitan ke atas Nawaz Sharif
Pembatalan ini sekaligus menghapuskan salah satu halangan untuk Nawaz layak bertanding dalam pilihan raya Februari depan.
Mahkamah Pakistan benar bekas perdana menteri, Nawaz Sharif diikat jamin
Mahkamah Tinggi di Pakistan memutuskan supaya pihak berkuasa tidak menangkap bekas perdana menteri Nawaz Sharif sekembalinya ke negara itu pada Sabtu, menjelang pilihan raya di republik itu.
Sekutu bekas PM Nawaz Sharif dilantik sebagai Menteri Kewangan Pakistan
Ahli politik kanan Pakistan Ishaq Dar, seorang penyokong setia bekas perdana menteri Nawaz Sharif, dilantik sebagai menteri kewangan baharu negara itu pada Rabu.
Nawaz Sharif dijatuhkan hukuman penjara tujuh tahun
Sebelum ini, Sharif dijatuhkan hukuman penjara 10 tahun Julai lalu namun dibebaskan dengan ikat jamin pada September.
Isteri dikebumi, Nawaz Sharif dan anak dibenar keluar penjara sementara
Jasadnya dibawa ke kampung halamannya di Lahore dengan pesawat awal Jumaat, dan dikebumikan di tanah perkuburan keluarganya.
Isteri Nawaz Sharif meninggal dunia
Kulsoom Nawaz, isteri bekas perdana menteri Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, meninggal dunia di London pada Selasa akibat kanser darah (limfoma).