ISLAMABAD: On a day Lahore was rocked by a massive suicide blast, the Pakistan capital convulsed with protests as around 10,000 people breached the high-security red zone here, clashing with the police over the execution of Mumtaz Qadri, a former Punjab police commando hanged last month for assassinating Punjab governor Salman Taseer.
The police used teargas to disperse the crowd from the cordon sanitaire around the parliament building. By midevening on Sunday, the military was called in to secure the situation.
"Army has been requisitioned by the Govt to control situation and secure Red Zone," military spokesman Gen. Asim Bajwa tweeted on his official account, referring to the area around the parliament. Earlier in the day, more than 25,000 people had gathered in Rawalpindi's Liaquat Bagh to participate in Qadri's 'chehlum' — or the Quran sanctified 40th day since the death of a person.
Qadri was Taseer's bodyguard when he shot him 29 times in 2011 over the Punjab governor's call to reform the blasphemy law, which critics say is frequently misused to oppress religious minorities. The protesters in Islamabad were against Qadri's hanging.
The crowd turned towards the barricaded capital manned by hundreds of paramilitary troopers. Several roads to Islamabad were closed by authorities. Riot police with batons and fibre glass shields fired teargas to try to prevent the crowds from pushing closer to the red zone in Islamabad.
The police used teargas to disperse the crowd from the cordon sanitaire around the parliament building. By midevening on Sunday, the military was called in to secure the situation.
"Army has been requisitioned by the Govt to control situation and secure Red Zone," military spokesman Gen. Asim Bajwa tweeted on his official account, referring to the area around the parliament. Earlier in the day, more than 25,000 people had gathered in Rawalpindi's Liaquat Bagh to participate in Qadri's 'chehlum' — or the Quran sanctified 40th day since the death of a person.
Qadri was Taseer's bodyguard when he shot him 29 times in 2011 over the Punjab governor's call to reform the blasphemy law, which critics say is frequently misused to oppress religious minorities. The protesters in Islamabad were against Qadri's hanging.
The crowd turned towards the barricaded capital manned by hundreds of paramilitary troopers. Several roads to Islamabad were closed by authorities. Riot police with batons and fibre glass shields fired teargas to try to prevent the crowds from pushing closer to the red zone in Islamabad.
Religious parties had last week moved an application with the Rawalpindi administration seeking permission to hold Mumtaz Qadri's chehlum on March 27 at Liaquat Bagh.
The administration sent the application to the Punjab government for approval, but the protesters claimed they had been granted formal permission to hold the chehlum.
The administration sent the application to the Punjab government for approval, but the protesters claimed they had been granted formal permission to hold the chehlum.
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