Related: Brief Report on Pakistan Offensive
The one that is being ignored.
"Pakistan rallies to test government, its democracy" by Rebecca Santanaand Asif Shahzad | Associated Press August 13, 2014
ISLAMABAD — Ahead of planned massive antigovernment protests, Pakistan’s capital feels like a city preparing for a siege.
Shipping containers block roads leading into central Islamabad, placed by security forces hoping to halt protesters supporting either a fiery antigovernment cleric or a cricket star-turned-politician. Police in riot gear can be seen taking up positions across the city as authorities suspended mobile phone service in some areas. Meanwhile, those worried the government may cut off fuel shipments to slow demonstrators have lined up at gas stations.
The protests Thursday represent the strongest challenge yet to the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, just a year after he took office in the first democratic transfer of power in a country long plagued by military coups. And how the country reacts to calls for Sharif’s ouster will show how far its nascent democracy has come.
‘‘I think there is going to be a test of wills in Islamabad,’’ said Rasul Bakhsh Rais, who heads the Institute for Strategic Studies.
Two men are at the forefront of challenges to Sharif.
The first is Tahir-ul-Qadri, a Pakistani cleric who’s also a Canadian national. He commands a loyal following of thousands through his network of mosques and religious schools in Pakistan. Last year, Qadri held a protest in the capital calling for vaguely worded election reforms ahead of the country’s May poll, grinding life in Islamabad to a halt. His followers already clashed with police last weekend.
The other is Pakistan’s former cricket legend Imran Khan. His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party is the third-largest political bloc in parliament. Khan’s attempts to win followers in Punjab province, the power base for Sharif and his Pakistan Muslim League-N, have rattled the ruling party.
Both men want the government to step down and new elections be held. Khan alleges last year’s vote is invalid due to widespread rigging by government supporters.
‘‘A sea of people is coming to Islamabad and they are peaceful and you cannot stop them,’’ Khan said Tuesday.
Both men picked Pakistan’s Independence Day for their rallies, the day marking when the country became its own nation carved out of India in 1947.
Their representatives met Tuesday to discuss strategy.
In a televised address Tuesday, Sharif said a Supreme Court committee would look into claims of fraud in last year’s election. He also warned that ‘‘no one will be allowed to create anarchy and play with the constitution.’’
--more--"
"Thousands on the road in Pakistan opposition rally" by Zaheer Babar and Munir Ahmed | Associated Press August 15, 2014
LAHORE, Pakistan — Thousands of protesters joined large convoys headed to Islamabad on Thursday for a mass rally in Pakistan’s capital to demand the ouster of the prime minister over allegations of vote fraud, as police foiled a possible attack on an airport in the southwest.
Can you say false flag?!
The rally is seen as the strongest challenge yet to the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, just a year after he took office in the first democratic transfer of power in a country long plagued by military coups.
The Pakistanis don't like their new U.S. puppet? I can't imagine why, can you?
The protesters set out on Thursday morning from Lahore in cars, trucks, and buses, while others walked or drove motorcycles as they embarked on the 187-mile journey to Islamabad. Initially 5,000 protesters were on the march, but the number steadily increased. The slow-moving convoy covered just 5 kilometers in seven hours.
The convoy is led by Imran Khan, a cricketer-turned-politician who heads the Tehrik-e-
Insaf party, the third-largest in Parliament. The demonstration was called to coincide with Pakistan’s Independence Day.
‘‘I am going to Islamabad to seek resignation from Nawaz Sharif,’’ Khan told supporters in a speech Thursday evening.
‘‘Get ready to win the match,’’ said Khan, who is revered in Pakistan for leading the national team that won the 1992 cricket World Cup.
Sharif’s ruling party has rejected Khan’s demand, saying the elected democratic government would complete its term, which ends in 2018.
Thousands of policemen were deployed across Islamabad and along the convoy’s route while the capital’s entry points have been blocked since earlier this week with large shipping containers.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told reporters that the government had allowed peaceful rallies but that ‘‘anyone trying to disrupt peace would be dealt with an iron hand.’’
He said authorities had made arrangements to handle as many as one million people in Islamabad.
The protesters were moving slowly and were expected to arrive in Islamabad on Friday, a day later than planned.
Khan’s convoy got off to a colorful start in Lahore, with protesters dancing to the beat of drums and singing patriotic songs. Many women had the green and white of the Pakistani national flag painted on their cheeks, along with the red and green of Khan’s party.
A separate march Thursday was led by Tahir-ul-Qadri, a Pakistani cleric who is also a Canadian national and who commands a loyal following of thousands through his network of mosques and religious schools in Pakistan. He left Lahore with thousands of his followers and was expected to join Khan’s rally on the road or in Islamabad.
Qadri’s convoy also moved slowly, covering 8 kilometers in seven hours.
‘‘Over 200,000 people are with me and I am going to Islamabad to bring a peaceful green revolution in Pakistan,’’ he said by phone from Lahore. Qadri refused to hold any talks with Sharif and urged him to step down.
I smell western agent provocateur and spoiler. Is that why they are getting coverage?
Both Qadri and Khan have called for new elections, claiming last year’s vote was invalid due to widespread rigging by government supporters.
Pakistan, a nuclear-armed country of 180 million people, has largely been ruled by military dictators since it was carved out of India in 1947.
Sharif, who was overthrown in the 1999 coup that brought former army chief Pervez Musharraf to power, has met regularly with top advisers ahead of the rally. The government has also invoked a rarely used article in the constitution allowing the military to step in to maintain law and order if needed.
It's called martial law.
Speaking at an Independence Day ceremony in southwestern Pakistan, Sharif criticized the rally, calling it ‘‘negative politics.’’
He said Khan would be better advised to ‘‘work to alleviate poverty and improve law and order’’ in Pakistan.
The large numbers expected at the rallies have raised fears of violence in a country already grappling with a Taliban insurgency.
Late Thursday, security forces foiled an attack on a complex housing an airport and air force base in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, police said.
Senior police officer Abdul Razzaq Cheema said two men armed with guns and grenades tried to enter but security forces returned fire.
Razzaq said both attackers were killed and eight policemen were wounded in the shootout.
Air force spokesman Taariq Mahmood said the air base was safe.
--more--"
Related: Pakistan's Rigged Election Returns
Just like all elections.
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
"Thousands rally in Islamabad against prime minister" by Munir Ahmed and Zarar Khan | Associated Press August 16, 2014
ISLAMABAD — Tens of thousands of antigovernment protesters gathered in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad late Friday in the pouring rain following the arrival of convoys led by a cricket star-turned-politician and a fiery anti-Taliban cleric.
Twin protests led by Imran Khan and the cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri represent the biggest challenge yet to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s year-old government, and security had been tightened across the capital amid fears of unrest in a country with a long history of chaotic politics and coups.
The protesters left the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday, vowing to march to the capital and camp out there until their demands for a new government are met. Despite the darkness and the lashing rain, the crowds swelled as they entered Islamabad shortly before midnight.
Police estimated some 60,000 people took part in the protests.
The protests were festive despite the rain, with demonstrators waving national and party flags and dancing to drum beats and patriotic songs.
Female supporters of Qadri wearing headscarves lined the roads and waved to his convoy as it entered the city.
Aaaaah, meeting with agenda-pushing propaganda pre$$ approval, I see.
As he approached the Islamabad airport, Khan tweeted that he would stage a sit-in on the city’s main Kashmir Highway. ‘‘Sharif should have his resignation ready,’’ he said.
A spokesman for Qadri, Shahid Mursaleen, said the cleric would deliver a speech on Saturday to call for Sharif’s removal and immediate arrest.
Sharif says he is ready to meet with his opponents but has given no indication that he would step down.
His critics accuse him of vote fraud during the election that brought him to power last year.
Sharif’s spokesman, Pervaiz Rashid, condemned the ‘‘irresponsible behavior and actions’’ of his opponents.
‘‘Pakistan is not a banana republic, where a few thousand people come and seek the resignation of the country’s prime minister,’’ he told a local news channel.
Earlier Friday, as the march led by Khan passed through the city of Gujranwala, supporters of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N hurled stones at the convoy, said Khan, who was unharmed.
PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah told the Dawn news channel that both sides threw stones at each other.
Mohammed Azeem, a police officer in Gujranwala, about 40 miles from Lahore, said some 200 ruling party supporters clashed with Khan’s protesters but that ‘‘the situation is under control.’’
Both Khan and Qadri have vowed to bring one million of their followers into the streets of Islamabad, a city of roughly 1.7 million inhabitants.
Thousands of riot police have been deployed across the capital. Authorities set up shipping containers to block traffic and cut off cellphone service in some areas.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan apologized Thursday for the city’s paralysis, insisting the measures were for the residents’ own safety and warning that demonstrators would face ‘‘an iron hand’’ if they try to disrupt law and order.
The protests represent the toughest challenge yet for Sharif, who won a landslide election victory in May 2013. Khan, who led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 cricket World Cup, heads the third largest party in parliament.
The army still wields great influence in Pakistan, which is battling several militant groups, but has not taken sides in the protests. There are fears, however, that political unrest could prompt the military to intervene.
Someone creating the conditions for just such an excuse?
Late Thursday, militants tried to storm two air bases in the southwestern city of Quetta, sparking a gun battle that killed 10 attackers, police said.
Police chief Muhammad Amlish said seven security personnel were wounded in the attack.
He said the attackers used guns and grenades as they tried to enter the Smungli and Khalid military bases on a sprawling complex next to the city’s airport.
--more--"
