Police clash with protesters of the Tehreek-i-Labaik Yah Rasool Allah Pakistan (TLYRAP) religious group during a protest in Islamabad. Photo: AFP
ISLAMABAD: A policeman was martyred and dozens others injured as forces on Saturday as moved to disperse a sit-in that has virtually paralysed the country´s capital for weeks.
Citing unnamed sources, Geo News reported that the policeman died of head injuries at a local hospital. The policeman was injured when protesters pelted the forces with stones in I-84 area of the city.
The roughly 8,500 elite police and paramilitary troops in riot gear began clearing the 2,000 or so demonstrators soon after dawn, with nearby roads and markets closed.
The sit-in by the little-known hardline group called Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah Pakistan has blocked a main highway used by thousands of commuters since November 6, causing hours-long traffic snarls and enraging commuters.
The protesters are demanding that Pakistan´s law minister Zahid Hamid resign over a hastily-abandoned amendment to the oath that election candidates must swear.
Policeman fires at protesters. Photo: AFP
AFP reporters at the scene said small scuffles had broken out as protesters hurled rocks at police. Others were detained as security forces began to clear the site. Some ambulances could be seen in the area but it was not clear if there had been any injuries.
Television images showed people standing on top of freight containers that had blocked the roads around the sit-in, and plumes of smoke filling the air.
An Islamabad police official said that the operation sought to avoid any loss of life on either side.
The sit-in has already cost the life of at least one eight-year-old child whose ambulance could not reach a hospital in time due to the blocked roads.
Plainclothes policemen arrest an injured activist (C) from the Tehreek-i-Labaik Yah Rasool Allah Pakistan (TLYRAP) religious group. Photo: AFP
Despite the protest´s relatively small size, authorities have hesitated to act against it, citing fears of violence as the demonstrators have vowed to die for their cause.
But government inaction has drawn the fury of the courts as well as millions of residents in Islamabad and neighbouring Rawalpindi.
The Supreme Court and the Islamabad High Court have issued blistering criticism and threatened to hold officials in contempt for their inaction.
Analysts and critics have accused the government of bungling its response to the protest, and allowing a minor issue to grow into a headline-grabbing and potentially dangerous situation.
It set an alarming precedent, that "anytime anyone is upset with the government, the capital may be choked and the government will bend its knees," warned Zeeshan Salahuddin of the Center for Research and Security Studies, a think tank in Islamabad.
Some protesters wearing gas masks were also seen throwing tear gas canisters back to police while others were pelting the police with stones using sling-shots.
Activists of a religious group throw rocks toward riot police during a clash in Islamabad. Photo: Reuters
According to private TV channels , dozens of protesters have been apprehended by police and shifted to prison vans.
An emergency has been declared in the hospitals of the federal capital in the wake of the crackdown.
At least 14 security officials have been treated for minor injuries at a hospital, according to Geo News.
Complying with court orders, the district administration of Islamabad earlier on Friday had issued final warning to protesters to clear Faizabad interchange and other main roads by midnight.
On Friday, Islamabad High Court ordered the federal capital administration to end the ongoing Faizabad sit-in by Sunday.
The protesters belonging to religious parties — Tehreek-i-Khatm-i-Nabuwwat, Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) and the Sunni Tehreek Pakistan (ST) —are calling for the sacking of Law Minister Zahid Hamid and strict action against those behind the amendment to the Khatm-i-Nabuwwat oath in the Elections Act 2017. The amendment had earlier been deemed a ‘clerical error’ and has already been rectified.
The protesters had occupied the Faizabad Bridge which connects Rawalpindi and Islamabad through the Islamabad Expressway and Murree Road, both of which are the busiest roads in the twin cities.
