Protesters besiege Pakistan parliament in Islamabad

Thousands of supporters of two opposition parties,
demanding resignation of Pakistani Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif, on Wednesday besieged the
country’s parliament as its session is in process.
The protesters who entered a high security area
“Red Zone” in Islamabad late Tuesday night
blocked the two main gates of the parliament to
stop member of the National Assembly (the lower
house) to come out after the session.
Prime Minister Sharif is also attending the meeting
in the parliament house to discuss the ongoing
protests in the country.
The Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran
Khan and the Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) chief
Tahir ul Qadri led two separate long marches from
eastern city of Lahore on Aug. 14 to Islamabad to
press the gov’t to fulfill their demands including the
resignation of Sharif.
PTI chief Khan, whose party has 34 seats in the
lower house, alleged that Sharif’s party managed
to win the 2013 general election through rigging at
mass level. He has been demanding the free and
fair probe into the rigging by a panel of the
country’s apex court after resignation of the PM.
While PAT workers have been protesting for their
10-point agenda, including the resignation of the
PM and Chief Minister of Punjab province Shabaz
Sharif and reformation of the system.
The PAT also demanded registration of a murder
case against Sharif and his brother CM Punjab
over the police shootout at protesters on June 17,
2014 in Lahore in which 14 PAT workers were
killed and 84 others injured.
Earlier on June 16, a session court in Lahore
ordered registration of a murder case against
Sharif and the Punjab along with 19 others,
including ministers and police officials, for the
killing of 14 protesters.
No case has been registered against anybody after
the court orders so far that enraged the protesters.
On Tuesday evening, Pakistan’s federal
government handed over the security of the
important gov’t buildings to the Pakistan Army,
under the Article 245 of the Constitution, hours
before the protesters started march to the Red
Zone.
The protesters removed all blockade from the
routes and ignored all warnings by the police and
entered into the Red Zone.
At least one police man and four workers of PTI
were injured during the protesters’ march to the
Red Zone.
Besides 700 army troops, thousands of
paramilitary troops and policemen are also present
in the area to deal with any situation.
Members of the parliament condemned the besiege
of the parliament by protesters, saying it is against
the political and democratic norms by going at this
extreme for one’s demands.

Your comments are appreciated, let us know your thoughts by dropping a comment below

Don’t forget to follow/share this news with your friends using the Share buttons below…