ISLAMABAD: Anti-government protesters in Pakistan have pressed fresh murder charges against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, police confirmed yesterday, as demonstrations that rocked the capital last month appear to lose steam.
The case relates to the deaths of three people in clashes with police that took place on the night of August 30 after the protesters attempted to storm the prime minister’s official residence and used cranes to remove barricades.
Two victims died from rubber bullet injuries while a third had a heart attack. All were male. A senior police official said: “Yes, a case for murder, attempted murder, attack and abetment for attack has been registered against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,” adding the interior minister and several senior police were also named.
The charge sheet, filed late Tuesday, was ordered by a lower court last week following a petition by supporters of Tahir ul Qadri along with opposition leader Imran Khan. Both leaders allege massive systematic rigging in the 2013 poll that swept Sharif to office, the country’s first peaceful transition of power from one civilian government to another in a country long dominated by the military.
Critics of the protesters have said they are being supported by elements of the country’s security institute as an official of Khan’s party announced that his party had been taking directions from the army. AFP
