Pakistani Protesters Briefly Occupy State TV
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Anti-government protesters broke into the building of state television, PTV, in central Islamabad and cut transmissions of the broadcaster's news services in Urdu and English for 45 minutes.
Protesters, led by religious leader Tahir-ul-Qadri and politician Imran Khan, have been trying to reach government buildings for the last three days. They have been calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The South Asian nation's powerful military said on Sunday that further use of force to resolve an escalating political crisis would only worsen the situation, Al Jazeera reported.
Paramilitary soldiers of Pakistan Rangers have arrived at the building briefly after the occupation and cleared it without any clashes taking place at the scene.
There were no clashes with the Rangers as protesters appeared to listen to them and back down. Rangers are now protecting the building and PTV News is back on air, after being off-air for about 45 minutes.
Before the arrival of the soldiers, local media showed live footage of a crowd of men streaming into the building after breaking through its gate.
In the footage, protesters were inside the building, with broken glass and other damage visible. Baton-wielding protesters were seen walking through the corridors.
Both channels went dark during that time, before having their transmission replaced by another non-news state-run channel called PTV Home.
The opposition leaders, Qadri and Khan, seem to be distancing themselves from the invasion of the building.
Khan, addressing his supporters right after the incident said: "None of our activists will be inside PTV. None of our activists should enter the buildings of the PM house and others."
