Iqbal says Islamabad operation launched on court orders

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Saturday that he was ready to resume dialogue with the protest leaders, adding the operation to disperse Islamabad sit-in had been launched on court orders.

Speaking to the state-run television, the minister said that the crackdown had been initiated in the capital in the light of court orders, which could not be ignored.

It is a duty of administration to implement the court orders, Iqbal said.

He appealed to the masses to beware of any conspiracy meant to spread violence as the country could not afford instability.

He warned that the protesters had certain things and resources which might be used against the state.

Earlier in the day, a policeman was martyred and over 190 people including police officers were injured as forces moved to disperse a sit-in that has virtually paralysed the country´s capital for weeks.

Smoke and tear gas filled the air as the roughly 8,500 elite police and paramilitary troops in riot gear were also seen throwing rocks and using slingshots in the ongoing bid to clear 2,000 or so hardline demonstrators which began soon after dawn.

AFP reporters at the site said more protesters were arriving, though it was difficult to tell how many. Trees had been cut down to block roads, and protesters were burning tyres.

Pakistan´s media regulator barred local TV channels from broadcasting live images from the scene as violence intensified.

At least 110 injured people have been taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad, a spokesman from the hospital told AFP, adding that 66 of them were members of the security forces.

An Islamabad police spokesman confirmed that a policeman was martyred in the fighting after he was struck in the head by a rock. Television footage showed a police van and demonstrators´ tents on fire.

Local media reported that small protests -- each with several dozen TLYRAP supporters -- were breaking out in other cities, including Karachi and Lahore, as the Islamabad operation dragged on through Saturday.

An Islamabad police official had said before the violent clashes that the operation sought to avoid any loss of life on either side.

Police said a policeman died of head injuries at a local hospital. The policeman was injured when protesters pelted the forces with stones in I-8-4 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.