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News ID: 4555
Publish Date : 01 September 2014 - 19:50

Bahrainis Call for Downfall of Al Khalifa Regime

ISLAMABAD (AP) – Anti-government protesters have clashed with police forces in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, hours after the army called for a peaceful resolution to the political crisis in the country.

Fresh clashes erupted on Monday morning as more than 3,000 demonstrators armed with rocks and wooden clubs sought to march on the official residence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Protesters pelted riot police with stones and some smashed up motorbikes with wooden clubs.
Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd but the heavy rain in Islamabad appeared to make it ineffective.
Pakistan’s army has called for a political solution to the current standoff between Islamabad and opposition protesters.
"The situation should be resolved politically without wasting any time and without recourse to violent means,” the Pakistani military said in a statement issued late on Sunday.
However, it also warned that if the crisis is not resolved politically, the army will have its own role to play in maintaining security.
On Saturday night, thousands of protesters trying to storm Sharif’s residence in the capital, Islamabad, clashed with riot police. Three people were killed and hundreds injured in the incident.
Pakistan has been the scene of anti-government protests since August 14.
The opposition protesters, led by Pakistani politician, Imran Khan, and cleric, Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri, accuse Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of corruption and rigging last year’s general elections.
The Pakistani government says it is trying to re-open negotiations with opposition groups.
Information Minister Pervez Rashid said on Sunday that Islamabad remains open to restart talks with the opposition to end the crisis peacefully.