Islamabad
The Interior Ministry did not specify when the troops would be deployed, and no soldiers were visible on the streets late Saturday.
Supporters of an Islamist group have been camped out at a key intersection outside the capital for the last 20 days, and the protest has triggered similar demonstrations across the country.
Hundreds of police in riot gear moved in to clear the intersection linking Islamabad with the garrison city of Rawalpindi after a deadline expired at midnight, doctors at local hospitals said.
The violence sent scores of police and protesters to hospitals with injuries caused by stoning and respiratory problems from tear gas. Hospital officials said near 200 people were hurt, most of them police.
Dr. Masood Safdar, of Benazir Bhutto Hospital, said five civilians were shot and killed. Dr. Tariq Niazi of the Holy Family Hospital confirmed the death of a young man who was shot in head.
News of the police intervention spread quickly, prompting sympathizers in cities round the country to take to the streets in a show of solidarity with the Islamabad protesters. The situation prompted the country’s regulatory body for electronic media to take TV broadcasts off the air. Key social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were also blocked. Government officials were not immediately available for comment.
The supporters of the Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah party, who have been camped out at the intersection for the last 20 days, are demanding the resignation of a law minister over an omitted reference to the prophet in a parliamentary bill. The minister, Zahid Hamid, apologized for the omission — a phrase saying that Muhammad is the last prophet in Islam — saying it was a clerical error that was later corrected.
But protest leaders were adamant and refused to clear the intersection unless the law minister resigned.
Saturday’s action came after a court ordered an end to the protest because it was disrupting daily life.
Television footage showed police initially taking control of the bridge where the demonstrators were camped out. Some protesters could be seen throwing stones at police. The images showed an area engulfed in thick smoke from tear gas and black smoke from burned tents.
Later in the morning, seminary students from Rawalpindi reinforced the demonstrators who pushed back police and Frontier Constabulary forces. Witnesses said a group of baton-carrying protesters snatched a tear gas gun and a few shells from a constable and lobbed them at police.