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Pakistan police and paramilitary forces launched an operation to disperse protesters who have been occupying main highways leading to the capital Islamabad. The operation was launched after Islamabad High Court (IHC) yesterday issued contempt of court notice against Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal for failing to implement orders to clear the roads. Pakistani authorities also ordered private television channels to go off air during a police and paramilitary crackdown on Islamist protesters in the capital. Let us take a look at how Islamabad burning from the ongoing clashes:
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About 2,000 activists of Tehreek-i-Khatm-i-Nabuwwat, Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYR) and the Sunni Tehreek Pakistan (ST) for more than two weeks have been blocking the Islamabad Expressway and Murree Road that connect Islamabad with its only airport and the garrison city of Rawalpindi. (AP Photo)
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Pakistani police used tear gas and watercannon and fought running battles with stone-throwing Islamist activists, as they moved to clear a protest by the religious hard-liners who have blocked main routes into Islamabad for more than two weeks. (Reuters Photo)
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The protests have spread to other main cities, including Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar. (AP Photo)
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The mass protest, plus the recent gains of two new Islamist parties in Pakistan, demonstrated the religious right's gathering strength ahead of what are expected to be tumultuous elections next year. (AP Photo)
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At least one security person was killed and over 150 persons, including protesters and security personnel, were injured, police said. (AP Photo)
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The operation was still going on and police were facing stiff resistance from the protesters. (Reuters Photo)
The Pakistan government has blocked popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube amidst ongoing operation against protesters. (AP Photo) -
Since Tehreek-e-Labaik began its sit-in, the government has blocked several roads with shipping containers to corral the protesters, but that has caused hours-long traffic jams in and around the capital. (AP Photo)
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Pakistan government had tried to negotiate an end to the sit-in, fearing violence during a crackdown similar to 2007, when clashes between authorities and supporters of a radical Islamabad mosque led to the deaths of more than 100 people. (AP Photo)
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Police fired tear gas to try to disperse them from a main road near Karachi's airport. (AP Photo)
The protesters have paralysed daily life in the capital, and have defied court orders to disband, demanding the firing of the minister of law. (AP Photo) -
Tehreek-e-Labaik blames the minister, Zahid Hamid, for changes to an electoral oath that it says amounts to blasphemy. The government puts the issue down to a clerical error. (AP Photo)
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Tehreek-e-Labaik supporters were coming out on the streets in other Pakistani cities in support of the Islamabad protesters.(AP Photo)
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Pakistani police officers help their injured colleague during a clash with protesters in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo)
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A police officer fires rubber bullets to disperse protesters during a clash in Islamabad. (AP Photo)
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Protesters damage an outside broadcast van during a clash with police in Islamabad. (AP Photo)
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Protesters and police officers throw stones each others during a clash in Islamabad. (AP Photo)
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