ISLAMABAD: Pakistani soldiers and paramilitary forces secured the headquarters of the state TV channel PTV in Islamabad on Monday after a crowd of anti-government protesters stormed the building and took the channel off the air.
The protesters had stormed the TV building forcing the channel briefly off the air as they clashed with police and pushed further into a sprawling government complex in the capital, Islamabad, in an effort to reach the prime minister's residence.
Opposition leaders Imran Khan, a hero cricket player turned politician, and Tahirul Qadri, a firebrand cleric, have been at the forefront of the protests for weeks demanding the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to quit.
Protesters and police clashed in various areas of the city's Red Zone, a sprawling complex of government buildings and grassy lawns in the center of Islamabad. The protesters, armed with clubs and many wearing gas masks, hurled rocks at the policemen. Five police officers, including a senior Islamabad police chief, and three protesters were taken to hospital, bleeding.
Sharif, who was toppled by the army in a 1999 coup, has refused to quit while protest leaders have rejected his offers of talks, creating a dangerous deadlock.
Clashes broke out again early on Monday and the state PTV channel and its English-language PTV World service were taken off the air after protesters stormed its headquarters.
A PTV source told Reuters the protesters had occupied the main control room and smashed some equipment. Television pictures showed uniformed members of a paramilitary force and soldiers walking calmly into the building.
A Reuters witness said the soldiers escorted protesters out and placed the building under their protection. There were no signs of violence and the protesters were seen leaving peacefully. The station later came back on the air.
In the nuclear-armed nation where power has often changed hands through military coups rather than elections, the army is bound to play a key role in how the conflict unfolds but it has not directly intervened, apart from meeting the protagonists and calling on them to show restraint.
Army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif met Prime Minister Sharif on Monday, but it was unclear what they discussed.
The army chief, who is not related to the prime minister, late Sunday urged the government and opposition leaders to resolve the crisis through talks and warned against the use of force to end the demonstrations.
Protesters have camped out in Islamabad since mid-August, paralyzing life in the centre of the capital and creating massive traffic jams. The protest site, where many sleep rough every night, is littered with rubbish and reeks of human waste.
How the crisis ends will be ultimately decided by the army. If the protests get out of hand, the military could step in decisively, imposing a curfew or even martial law.
There is also a question mark over how much protest leaders are capable of controlling their own people, many of them frustrated after weeks of hardship and no solution in sight.
Alternatively, the army could side with the protesters and put pressure on Sharif to resign, in which case an interim government would have be put in place and early parliamentary elections held to elect a new government.
However, few observers believe the army is bent on seizing power again. A weakened Sharif would allow the army to remain firmly in charge of key issues such as relations with India and Afghanistan while allowing the civilian government to deal with day-to-day economic problems in which it has little interest.
Some ruling party officials have accused elements within the military of orchestrating the protests to weaken the government.
Khan and Qadri have instructed their supporters to avoid any confrontation with the armed forces and strictly follow their orders. As soldiers entered the PTV building, many protesters smiled and shook hands with them.
The military insists it does not meddle in politics but it was known to be frustrated with the government, in particular over the treason trial of former military chief and ex-President Pervez Musharraf, who deposed Sharif in 1999.
There has also been disagreement on how to handle Islamist militants, and on relations with old rival India.
On Monday morning, despite heavy rain, crowds of protesters fought running battles with retreating police after breaking the main gate into the Pakistan Secretariat area, which houses government ministries as well as Sharif's official residence.
The protesters made it to a gate that surrounds the prime minister's residence where they were met by paramilitary Rangers and army troops.
The rallies against Sharif constitute the biggest threat to his government little more than one year in office. Several rounds of negotiations between representatives of Khan and Qadri and the government have failed to make any headway.
The two opposition leaders allege widespread fraud in the country's May 2013 election, in which Sharif's party won by a landslide. International observers had found no evidence indicating rampant election tampering.
Pakistan Army secures TV station from protesters
Pakistan Army secures TV station from protesters
US senators visit key Ukrainian port city as they push for fresh sanctions on Russia
- The visit and the push for Congress to take up sanctions on Russia come at a crucial moment in the conflict
WASHINGTON: A delegation of US senators was returning Wednesday from a trip to Ukraine, hoping to spur action in Congress for a series of sanctions meant to economically cripple Moscow and pressure President Vladimir Putin to make key concessions in peace talks.
It was the first time US senators have visited Odesa, Ukraine’s third-most populous city and an economically crucial Black Sea port that has been particularly targeted by Russia, since the war began nearly four years ago. Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, Chris Coons, Richard Blumenthal and Sheldon Whitehouse made the trip. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis had planned to join but was unable to for personal reasons.
“One of the things we heard wherever we stopped today was that the people of Ukraine want a peace deal, but they want a peace deal that preserves their sovereignty, that recognizes the importance of the integrity of Ukraine,” Shaheen said on a phone call with reporters.
The visit and the push for Congress to take up sanctions on Russia come at a crucial moment in the conflict. Delegations for the two sides were also meeting in Switzerland for two days of US-brokered talks, but neither side appeared ready to budge on key issues like territory and future security guarantees. The sanctions, senators hoped, could prod Putin toward settling for peace, as the US has set a June deadline for settlement.
“Literally nobody believes that Russia is acting in good faith in the negotiations with our government and with the Ukrainians,” Whitehouse said. “And so pressure becomes the key.”
Still, legislation to impose tough sanctions on Russia has been on hold in Congress for months.
Senators have put forward a range of sanction measures, including one sweeping bill that would allows the Trump administration to impose tariffs and secondary sanctions on countries that purchase Russia’s oil, gas, uranium and other exports, which are crucial to financing Russia’s military. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has also advanced a series of more-targeted bills that would sanction China’s efforts to support Russia’s military, commandeer frozen Russian assets and go after what’s known as Moscow’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers being used to circumvent sanctions already in place.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has co-sponsored the Senate’s sweeping sanctions and tariff legislation, also released a statement during the Munich Security Conference this weekend saying that Senate Majority Leader John Thune had committed to bringing up the sanctions bill once it clearly has the 60 votes needed to move through the Senate.
“This legislation will be a game changer,” Graham said. “President Trump has embraced it. It is time to vote.”
Blumenthal, who co-sponsored that bill alongside Graham, also said there is bipartisan support for the legislation, which he called a “very tough sledgehammer of sanctions and tariffs,” but he also noted that “we need to work out some of the remaining details.” Democrats, and a handful of Republicans, have been opposed to President Donald Trump’s campaign to impose tariffs around the world in an effort to strike trade deals and spur more manufacturing in the US
In the House, Democrats are opposed to the tariff provisions of that bill. Instead, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, has proposed separate legislation that makes it more difficult for Trump to waive sanctions, but does away with the tariff provisions.
A separate bill, led by the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks, would bolster US military support for Ukraine by $8 billion. Democrats currently need one more Republican to support an effort to force a vote on that bill.
Once they return to the US, the senators said they would detail how US businesses based in Ukraine have been attacked by Russia. The Democrats are also hoping to build pressure on Trump to send more US weapons to Ukraine. “Putin understands weapons, not words,” Blumenthal said.
Still, the lawmakers will soon return to a Washington where the Trump administration is ambivalent about its long-term commitments to securing peace in Ukraine, as well as Europe. For now, at least, they were buoyed by the conversations from their European counterparts and Republican colleagues.
“We and the Republican senators who were with us in Munich spoke with one voice about our determination to continue to support Ukraine,” Coons said.
