Monday, August 11, 2014

Sunday Globe Special: Brief Report on Pakistan Offensive

"Two dead as dissent continues in Pakistan province

ISLAMABAD — Violent clashes between the police and opponents of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif swept across Pakistan’s Punjab province on Saturday, leaving at least two people dead and several hundred injured as Sharif’s 14-month-old government sought to forestall a series of planned street protests aimed at ousting it (AP)."

The coverage really tanked after the opening announcement in what has to be one of the most underreported offensives ever.

"Pakistan opens murder case against cleric" Associated Press   August 11, 2014

LAHORE, Pakistan — Authorities have opened a murder investigation against an antigovernment cleric after a police officer was killed in clashes with the cleric’s supporters, a top Pakistani official said Sunday.

The clashes and murder investigation are part of escalating tensions in Pakistan where two high-profile figures — the cleric and cricket legend-turned-politician Imran Khan — have called for the government’s ouster. Both are calling for a march on the capital of Islamabad on Thursday, vowing to bring thousands of people into the streets and throw the government into crisis.

The cleric, Tahir-ul-Qadri, is from Pakistan but also spends time in Canada. He has a network of mosques and religious schools across Pakistan with thousands of followers.

He's a western agent.

Last year his followers camped out in the center of the capital for three days, in a protest demanding electoral reforms ahead of the May national election.

His call for a military-backed transitional government at the time raised questions about whether he was backed by the country’s powerful military, charges Qadri has denied. He returned from Canada in June this year, vowing to lead a revolution to topple the government.

The murder investigation stems from clashes Friday and Saturday during which Qadri’s supporters battled with police. The supporters were on their way to a rally held Sunday in Lahore, the provincial capital.

Qadri’s supporters say eight of his followers were killed in the violence while authorities said two people, including one police officer, died.

Rana Mashhood, the provincial minister of Punjab province, said authorities opened the case against Qadri on Sunday, based on recordings of him and media reports in which Mashhood said the cleric incited people to violence.

Seems to be the war-promoting agenda-pusher's main function over here.

A spokesman for Qadri, Shahid Mursaleen, dismissed the case, saying that the government was trying to pressure Qadri to drop his protest.

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Related: Pakistan Politics 

That's all it is.