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Pakistan cleric blocks parliament amid Islamabad protests | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Pakistan's anti-government cleric Tahirul Qadri has called on protesters to block access to the country's parliament building in Islamabad. | |
He and another protest leader, Imran Khan, are demanding the resignation of PM Nawaz Sharif. | |
On Tuesday the protesters entered the high-security red zone, which houses state buildings and foreign embassies. | |
The military has urged dialogue to end the impasse between the government and the protest leaders. | |
Mr Qadri, in an address to followers, called on them to stand guard at all the gates of the parliament building. | |
"You will not allow anyone to enter or leave [the building], not even a mosquito... not even the prime minister," the cleric said in his address. | "You will not allow anyone to enter or leave [the building], not even a mosquito... not even the prime minister," the cleric said in his address. |
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan says parliament is in session at the moment, with dozens of MPs as well as the prime minister present inside. | |
Hundreds of government employees are also inside the parliament building and other buildings which Mr Qadri wants his followers to lock down. | |
Soon after his address, his followers, wielding shields and batons, moved closer to parliament, ignoring warnings by police not to approach any closer. | |
But there are no signs of a clash so far, says our correspondent. | |
Earlier on Wednesday, army spokesman General Asim Bajwa made the call for dialogue on his verified Twitter account. | |
"[The] situation requires patience, wisdom and sagacity from all stakeholders to resolve [the] prevailing impasse through meaningful dialogue in larger national and public interest," he said. | |
The buildings in the red zone were symbols of the state and were protected by the army, "therefore sanctity of these national symbols must be respected". | |
Mr Qadri said his group would not "violate the sanctity" of government buildings. | |
The two opposition groups that are currently camped out in Islamabad are led by opposition politician Imran Khan and Mr Qadri. Both groups marched from Lahore. | |
Both protest leaders want a change of government, and Mr Khan has accused Mr Sharif's party of vote-rigging in the 2013 election. | Both protest leaders want a change of government, and Mr Khan has accused Mr Sharif's party of vote-rigging in the 2013 election. |
The government has accused the protesters of attempting to derail democracy. They have offered talks with the demonstrators, but these have been rejected. | The government has accused the protesters of attempting to derail democracy. They have offered talks with the demonstrators, but these have been rejected. |