Showdown: Pakistan deploys army to thwart protesters

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has sent troops to boost security in Islamabad’s government district after opposition politician Imran Khan pledged to lead protesters on Parliament in a high-stakes bid to depose Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Tens of thousands of protesters used a crane and bolt cutters to force their way past a barricade of shipping containers in the capital as they marched on Parliament. Riot police and paramilitaries had used the containers and barbed wire to seal the diplomatic and political zone of the capital before the march began. Police have been instructed to try to avoid violence. The protests are led by Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri, who controls a network of religious schools and charities. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said extra troops were being deployed to stop marchers entering the red zone. “It has been decided to hand over the security of the red zone to military,” the minister said. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Sharif and attended by army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif, Khan said — suggesting the government has the support of the powerful military in the crisis. The minister renewed the government’s offer of talks with Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri to resolve the protests, and accused the PTI chief of reneging on a promise not to try to enter the red zone. “I again invite them to negotiations. No problem could be solved through violence, rather violence complicates it,” he said. Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal said the protesters had no mandate and urged them to talk. Arab News