Protesters briefly storm Pakistan state TV station

[unhappycamper]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_PAKISTAN?SITE=VANOV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Protesters briefly storm Pakistan state TV station
By ZARAR KHAN and ANJUM NAVEED
Associated Press
Sep 1, 9:38 AM EDT

ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Anti-government protesters stormed Pakistan's state television building Monday, forcing the channel briefly off the air as they clashed with police and pushed closer to the prime minister's residence.

The violence comes as part of the mass demonstrations led by cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri and opposition politician Imran Khan that demand Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resign. Over the weekend, clashes between protesters and security forces killed three people and wounded hundreds in running street battles in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.

On Monday, protesters and police clashed in various areas of the city's Red Zone, a sprawling complex of government buildings and grassy lawns in the center of Islamabad. The protesters, armed with clubs and many wearing gas masks, hurled rocks at police. Five police officers, including a senior Islamabad police chief, and three protesters were taken to hospital, bleeding.

The protesters made it to a gate that surrounds the prime minister's residence, where they were met by paramilitary Rangers and army troops.

[Lefta Dissenter]

1. So glad my son got out of there.

His one-year diplomatic post in Islamabad was up on August 13, but because the city was shut down, it took him until the 19th to get out. Then the roads of the city, including to the airport, were shut down again a half-hour after he got to the airport.