Pakistani protesters hold sticks and chant slogans after intruding the state television building in Islamabad. AP AP

PAKISTAN’S NATIONAL TV channel was taken off air today after anti-government protesters stormed the state broadcaster’s building.

Located in the Red Zone, a sprawling complex of government buildings and grassy lawns in the center of Islamabadand, the state TV building was invaded by the protesters who moved through the corridors with sticks and clubs, smashing equipment as visibly nervous employees looked on.

It is believed that the TV station is now back on the air.

Pakistani protesters beat the portrait of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with shoes at the main entry gate of the state television building in Islamabad. AP AP

TV station 

At the state TV, senior official Athar Farooq said 20 cameras went missing as protesters overran the station. “The intruders seemed well trained” and were taking instructions over mobile phones during the break-in, he said.

Several of the protesters took down Sharif’s portrait from a wall, threw it on the floor and stomped on it in anger.

Pakistani protesters hold sticks after intruding into the state television building. AP AP

Ismatullah Niazi, another senior TV official told the Associated Press that the intruders also destroyed computers and other equipment, scuffled with employees and took food from the cafeteria.

Army troops and paramilitary Rangers later reached the building and began to clear it of protesters. Some private Pakistani TV stations showed footage of protesters embracing the Rangers and agreeing to leave.

‘Embarrassing for everybody’

A military official said over a loud speaker:

You have come to the wrong place, please leave immediately as this is embarrassing for everybody — for your leaders and for those working here.

Earlier, Defense Minister Khwaja Asif told state TV that the protesters are seeking to “create chaos in the country, they want to defame Pakistan in the eyes of the world.”

Imran Khan, who has been leading twin protests since mid-August calling on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign, distanced himself from those who stormed the TV station.

“We have not asked anybody to enter any buildings, they are not our people,” he said, speaking to supporters from the back of his truck.

Pakistani paramilitary troops call on protesters to evacuate the state television . AP AP

Today protesters and police clashed in various areas of the city’s Red Zone. Protesters also attempted to reach the prime minister’s residence, which is also located in the area.

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

The violence is the latest in the turmoil in Pakistan where anti-government cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri and cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan have been leading twin protests since mid-August calling on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign.

Deaths

Over the weekend, three people died and hundreds were injured in what amounted to running street battles between the police and the demonstrators.

Five police officers, including a senior Islamabad police chief, and three protesters were taken to hospital, bleeding.

The rallies against Sharif constitute the biggest threat to his government little more than one year in office. Several rounds of negotiations between representatives of Khan and Qadri and the government have failed to make any headway.

The two opposition leaders allege widespread fraud in the country’s May 2013 election, in which Sharif’s party won by a landslide. International observers had found no evidence indicating rampant election tampering.

The protests began with a march to Islamabad from the eastern city of Lahore on the country’s Independence Day, on 14 August.

Once in the capital, the protesters camped out near the parliament, pushing their demands. Khan and Qadri had called for millions to join them but crowds at the most numbered tens of thousands early on and at the height of the demonstrations.

The rallies initially remained peaceful, though they forced a lockdown of Islamabad and badly harmed the city’s business life. Violence first erupted on Saturday, with police firing tear gas and clashing with protesters who pushed closer to the seat of government in the Red Zone.

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