Violence mars Pakistani anti-government protest
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) – Thousands of anti-government protesters led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif headed to Islamabad on Sunday for a planned sit-in at the parliament, ramping up a power struggle that risks hobbling a vital Western ally in the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida.
The protests in Lahore began violently, filling the streets with flying rocks and clouds of tear gas, but turned festive when outnumbered police allowed Sharif to defy his house arrest and join his supporters.
The sit-in planned for Monday is being led by lawyers, opposition parties and civil rights activists demanding President Asif Ali Zardari fulfill a pledge to reinstate judges seen as independent who were fired by his predecessor, Pervez Musharraf.