Pakistani police launch operation to clear Islamist rally

7th Avenue, Islamabad (Photo By Obaid747 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0)

ISLAMABAD — Police launched an operation to clear an intersection linking the Pakistani capital Islamabad with the garrison city of Rawalpindi where an Islamist group’s supporters camped out for the last 20 days, officials said Saturday.

Hundreds of police in riot gear moved against the supporters of the Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah party early Saturday after a deadline expired at midnight.

Senior police officer Ismatullah Junejo said the force was swiftly clearing the venue as some 300 protesters ignored the final warning to disperse. He said none of the police carried firearms to avoid loss of life, instead using only tear gas and water cannon to disperse the protesters.

Police lobbed tear gas canisters and used the water cannon while surrounding and arresting dozens of protesters who resisted by throwing rocks. The riot police used batons against protesters who resisted.

The government had made several attempts to resolve the stalemate through negotiations with the protesters, which was demanding the resignation of a law minister over an omitted reference to the Prophet Muhammad in a parliamentary bill.

The minister, Zahid Hamid, apologized for the omission — a phrase saying that Muhammad is the last prophet in Islam — saying it was a clerical error that was later corrected.

But the leaders of the protest were adamant and refused to clear the intersection unless the law minister resigned.

Saturday’s action came after a court ordered the protest to stop because it was disrupting daily life.

Officials said more than 50 people, including police, were injured in the rock throwing and taken to three hospitals in the area. Dr. Mohammad Altaf at Islamabad main hospital said 36 people were brought from the rally with minor injuries and respiratory problems. He said among them were 24 police.

Television footage shows police largely taking control of the bridge where the protesters were camped out. Some protesters can be seen throwing stones at police. The area is engulfed in thick smoke from tear gas and black smoke from burned tents.

Some protesters who escaped the operation later gathered at a main street in Rawalpindi blocking it and suspending traffic by throwing stones at moving vehicles.

In Karachi, a group of people gathered and blocked a main street in protest against the police action in Islamabad. Police were preparing to move against them to restore traffic during the morning rush hour.

Small groups of protesters also took to the streets in Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan and others cities in Punjab province to show solidarity with the Islamabad protesters.

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Associated Press writer Zaheer Babar in Lahore contributed to this report.