Police blocks road leading to Nawaz Sharif's Lahore residence

Lahore, Aug 31: Fearing backlash from anti- government protesters, roads leading to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Lahore residence, where he is currently residing, have been blocked and heavy contingent of police deployed.

The move came after Imran Khan and moderate cleric Tahir-ul Qadri's supporters were baton-charged outside the prime minister's official residence in Islamabad.

One woman was killed in police firing and over 350 others were injured. The Lahore police in wee hours of today placed containers on Raiwind Road leading to the palatial Jati Umera residence of Prime Minister Sharif here.

Sharif had left the prime minister house in Islamabad for his Lahore residence, which is sprawling on acres of land, on Friday along with his personal staff. "Sharif had vacated the prime minister house fearing it might come under siege from the protesters," a source in the ruling PML-N told PTI. His brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is also living there.

"Sharif will not move to the prime minister house in Islamabad till the police manage to clear the area from Khan's Pakistan Tahreek-i-Insaf and Qadri's Pakistan Awami Tahreek," the source said, adding Sharif and his family members would not travel by road in the present circumstances.

Meanwhile, the protesters clashed with police at famous Liberty Chowk and the Mall Road here. Half a dozen protesters suffered injuries and were shifted to hospital where their condition is stated to be out of danger.

On the other hand, a group of Khan's supporters gathered outside the residence of Defense Minister Khawaja Asif in Sialkot, some 150 km from Lahore, and pelted stones at it.

Police, however, managed to disperse them. In Multan, some 350 km from here, the Tehrik-e-Insaf activists blocked the motorway road for several hours. Police used baton to disperse them. Tehrik-e-Insaf Punjab president Ejaz Chaudhry said, "Today we will block all entry and exit points of Punjab province. We will bring the life to standstill to pressure Nawaz Sharif to resign."

PTI