Rawalpindi:
Pakistani police fired tear gas on Monday to disperse crowds of supporters of a prominent anti-government cleric who was due to arrive in the country to lead a revolt against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
A Reuters reporter at the scene said about 2,000 supporters of Tahirul Qadri, who is usually based in Canada, clashed with police outside an airport near the capital Islamabad where the cleric had been due to land at 7 a.m. (0200 GMT) on Monday.
It was not immediately clear if his plane had landed. Police cordoned off all roads leading to the airport and blocked mobile phone services to prevent protesters from communicating with each other.