Imran Khan addresses his supporters during an anti-government protest in Islamabad. (AP)
One person was killed and more than 400 were injured in clashes as Pakistani police battled thousands of protesters demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with tear gas, batons and rubber bullets outside the PM's official residence and the adjacent parliament building. The violence began late on Saturday and continued till Sunday.
Alleging police brutality, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who is leading the protesters, threatened to file a murder case against the prime minister.
Here are the 10 latest developments in the story
"The way & amount of tear gas been used is illegal & is considered as an attempt of murder....We will register FIR of murder," said a post on the official twitter account of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)
With the daybreak on Sunday, protesters started regrouping and made repeated attempts to make their way through heavy deployment of police and barricades to reach the premier's residence.
The protesters are being led by Khan and populist cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri. They claim the 2013 elections, which saw Sharif sweep to power, were massively rigged.
Speaking to his supporters this morning, Khan refused to end the protests and told his supporters across the country to gather at the Red Zone that is home to many government buildings and embassies. "I promise you, today will be the final day of the war. We have to liberate Pakistan today," he added.
Despite the fortnight-long protests, the government has struck a defiant note, issuing a statement saying that Sharif would not be stepping down. The PM left his official residence in Islamabad for Lahore on Friday along with his personal staff. Fearing backlash, the police have blocked all roads leading to his residence there.
To check the protesters, the police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. Islamabad police chief Khalid Khattak told AFP that the police exercised restraint but the protesters were armed with axes, wire cutters and hammers. According to Railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, the protesters even tried to uproot the entry gate of the prime minister's house.
Wasim Khawaja, spokesman for the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital in Islamabad, told AFP the hospital received dead body of one person which was found in a rivulet at the protest site. "He died of heart attack," Khwaja said. He reportedly fell into an open ditch.
Demonstrations have also erupted in the eastern city of Lahore and the port city of Karachi.
Protesters led by former cricketer Imran Khan and cleric Tahir ul-Qadhave have been camped outside parliament for more than two weeks. But it was the first time they had staged a rally directly outside the office of the prime minister to demand he step down.
Khan told Express News during the clashes yesterday that he was inside a shipping container in front of the prime minister's house. "We will continue our struggle against the government, till our last breath," he said, calling for demonstrations across Pakistan. Qadri was in a bullet-proof car close to the scene, according to television images.
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