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 The numbers were far below what protest organizers expected, but
the power of protesters to paralyze the central business district
has presented the biggest challenge yet to the 15-month-old civilian
government.
The unrest has raised questions about Pakistan's stability, at a
time when the nuclear-armed nation of 180 million is waging an
offensive against Pakistani Taliban militants and when the influence
of anti-Western and sectarian groups is growing.
Riot police cordoned off two streets in downtown Islamabad with
shipping containers and barbed wire for the protests. Protest
organizers say they are peaceful but determined.
"We want Pakistan to be a peaceful state through our democratic
revolution," populist cleric Tahir ul-Qadri told his followers in a
short speech.
His supporters were adamant they would not leave until Qadri told
them to. Most of the men carried stout sticks a few feet long.
Brigades of men and women in fluorescent jackets had gas masks,
swimming goggles and bottles of water.
 "We are here to disarm the gas shells," explained one.
Qadri, a cleric and political activist who usually lives in Canada,
controls a network of schools and Islamic charities.
He wants the prime minister to resign and a new government of
technocrats installed. He promises his supporters he will crack down
on corruption, and generate enough funds to pay for homes, jobs,
cheap energy and water.
"Once corruption is eradicated, the country can move forward. It is
the only thing holding us back," said 15-year-old Umme Habiba, a
vivacious student with dimples and long black robes who said she
came with her whole family.
IMRAN KHAN
Former cricket star Imran Khan, who heads the opposition Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaaf party, was also holding a smaller protest sit-in on
an adjacent street.
The crowds - mostly young men - danced to music blasting from
speakers or swapped T-shirts with Khan's face on them.
"Imran Khan is not a corrupt person. He's loyal to people and the
country," said Aqsa Ijaz, a 25-year-old student sitting on top of a
shipping container with her cousin, a banker.
Khan also wants Sharif to step down, accusing him of rigging last
year's elections. Sharif won by a landslide, taking 190 out of 342
seats. Khan also did well in the elections, coming from political
obscurity to take 34 seats, the third largest bloc in the
legislature. But he says he should have had many more.
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"I will not leave here until I have got real freedom for the
country," Khan told thousands of supporters in the early hours of
Saturday.
Like Qadri, Khan also commands intense personal loyalty from his
followers. Pakistanis remember he led them to victory in the 1992
World Cup.
But on Friday a stone-throwing mob of ruling party loyalists
attacked a convoy of Khan's supporters in the eastern city of
Gujranwala. Khan was not injured, his spokeswoman said.
Some members of Sharif's party have suggested the protests are
secretly backed by elements in the military, which has had an uneasy
relationship with Sharif. To what extent Khan and Qadri can
destabilize the government is likely to depend on the stance taken
by the armed forces, which has a long history of mounting coups.
Few people fear a coup, but many officials think the threat of
unrest will increase the military's hold over the government.
The military has been frustrated with the government, in particular
over the prosecution of former army chief and president Pervez
Musharraf for treason.
There has been disagreement, too, between the government and the
army on how to handle the Taliban. The government insisted on peace
talks but eventually the army launched an offensive.
The government is also struggling to overcome power shortages, high
unemployment and spiraling crime.
"This government has failed the poor people," said farmer Razwan
Baloch. "Everyone is here because life is so hard."
(Writing by John Chalmers and Katharine Houreld; Editing by Richard
Borsuk and Stephen Powell)
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