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 Opposition leader Imran Khan and firebrand cleric Tahir ul-Qadri
have led tens of thousands of supporters from Punjab to Islamabad in
a bid to bring down Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whom they accuse of
rigging elections and corruption.
The protests have piled extra pressure on the 15-month-old civilian
government already struggling to overcome high unemployment, daily
power cuts and a Taliban insurgency.
The protests have raised questions over the political stability of
Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation of 180 million people with a
history of coups.
Police in Punjab, Pakistan's wealthiest and most populous province,
arrested 147 supporters of Khan and Qadri overnight to prevent them
joining the protests in Islamabad, said Inspector Rana Hussain in
the central town of Sargodha.
Khan, a former international cricket star, said on Monday he would
lead protesters into the capital's "Red Zone", an area home to
Western embassies and key government ministries, on Tuesday.
 The government has previously said protesters are not allowed to
enter the area. It is flooded with riot police and paramilitary
forces and cordoned off with shipping containers and barbed wire.
The government has not said whether Khan would be able to proceed to
the Red Zone or not.
Qadri has said he will meet his supporters later on Tuesday to
consider whether to march alongside Khan. Their protests have so far
remained separate because the two have different supporters and
plans for what should happen if Sharif steps down.
PARLIAMENTARY BOYCOTT
Khan also announced his party, the third largest in the country,
would resign from their 34 seats in the National Assembly and in all
provinces apart from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which his party controls.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan, is the heartland of
the Taliban insurgency. Khan's announcement means Pakistan will have
to hold a raft of by-elections.
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Police have estimated the number of people at the protests at around
55,000, including many women and children. Khan has called for his
supporters to bring their families on the march.
Pakistan's newspapers have criticized Khan, with many running
editorials accusing him of seeking to provoke a violent
confrontation after failing to muster the numbers needed to oust
Sharif.
So far, the country's powerful military has remained silent on the
protests. Some analysts believe Khan and Qadri mounted their
challenge because Sharif's relationship with the military had
deteriorated in recent months, appearing to leave the fledgling
civilian government isolated.
However, Sharif, a conservative businessman who ran promising to fix
the economy and power crisis, has a large power base. He won a
landslide victory in last year's election, taking a majority of
seats in parliament.
Sharif also has some support from the country's judiciary, which
warned last week that the protesters should not consider any
"unconstitutional" action.
(Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
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