Pakistan police battle opposition supporters
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 28, 2009 00:00
ISLAMABAD - Police fought running battles with supporters of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif near Pakistan's capital Friday as protests against a court order barring him from elected office continued for a third day.
The unrest and brewing political crisis risk distracting Pakistan's shaky government from its fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban and the country's perilous economic situation.
Riot police fired tear gas at stone-throwing youths who were among hundreds of people who repeatedly invaded the six-lane highway between Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi. Traffic on the road, the main route into the capital, was halted. Police official Saqib Sultan said about 10 people were arrested. There were no reports of injuries. The trouble began Wednesday after the Supreme Court upheld a ruling that banned Sharif from contesting polls because of a past criminal conviction.
Controversial ruling
The court decision prevents Sharif from challenging President Asif Ali Zardari in the 2013 general elections.
Mobs erected barricades, smashed the windows of stores and banks and burned four vehicles in and around Rawalpindi, in Punjab province, on Thursday. Interior Ministry spokesman Shahedullah Baig said paramilitary troops had been deployed in Punjab on Friday at the request of provincial authorities. He gave no further details.
The Supreme Court also removed Sharif's brother as head of the government in Punjab, Pakistan's richest and most populous province. Zardari compounded the blow by dismissing the Punjab government and putting its governor - a Zardari loyalist - in charge.
Sharif, widely considered the country's most popular politician, has accused Zardari of orchestrating the court rulings and urged Punjab's police and officials on Thursday to disobey the governor. He also has urged his supporters to join mass rallies planned for mid-March by Pakistan's lawyers, whose protests for an independent judiciary undermined former President Pervez Musharraf's long rule.
Riot police fired tear gas at stone-throwing youths who were among hundreds of people who repeatedly invaded the six-lane highway between Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi. Traffic on the road, the main route into the capital, was halted. Police official Saqib Sultan said about 10 people were arrested. There were no reports of injuries. The trouble began Wednesday after the Supreme Court upheld a ruling that banned Sharif from contesting polls because of a past criminal conviction.
Controversial ruling
The court decision prevents Sharif from challenging President Asif Ali Zardari in the 2013 general elections.
Mobs erected barricades, smashed the windows of stores and banks and burned four vehicles in and around Rawalpindi, in Punjab province, on Thursday. Interior Ministry spokesman Shahedullah Baig said paramilitary troops had been deployed in Punjab on Friday at the request of provincial authorities. He gave no further details.
The Supreme Court also removed Sharif's brother as head of the government in Punjab, Pakistan's richest and most populous province. Zardari compounded the blow by dismissing the Punjab government and putting its governor - a Zardari loyalist - in charge.
Sharif, widely considered the country's most popular politician, has accused Zardari of orchestrating the court rulings and urged Punjab's police and officials on Thursday to disobey the governor. He also has urged his supporters to join mass rallies planned for mid-March by Pakistan's lawyers, whose protests for an independent judiciary undermined former President Pervez Musharraf's long rule.