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Army called in as Pakistan protesters occupy TV station

Pakistan's anti-government protesters on Monday pushed closer to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's official residence after storming the headquarters of Pakistan Television, the state broadcaster, in another setback to Mr Sharif's beleaguered administration.

Private television channels showed army troops and paramilitaries entering the PTV offices in the capital Islamabad to remove the protesters. Policemen had earlier fired tear gas at people preparing to march in the once heavily protected neighbourhood known as the "red zone".

The attack on PTV forced the broadcaster temporarily to suspend transmission, and highlighted the government's weakening grip on the Pakistani capital. During the occupation, the demonstrators smashed broadcast equipment and took charge of PTV's cafe before leaving the premises.

"The police just ran away," Muhammad Malick, managing director of PTV, told privately owned Dunya TV. "We were rescued by the army, which turned up in five or 10 minutes after I called them for help."

Analysts and foreign diplomats said it seemed as though Mr Sharif's government was unable to tackle the protests that have continued for more than two weeks under the leadership of former cricket star Imran Khan and Islamic scholar Tahirul Qadri.

In particular, the civilian police have not managed to quell the trouble, leaving the army - which is suspected of trying to undermine or even depose Mr Sharif - in a commanding position.

Both Mr Khan and Mr Qadri have refused to end their campaign until Mr Sharif resigns as Pakistan's prime minister, but Mr Sharif and his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party have repeatedly rejected the idea.

"The prime minister has practically lost his ability to take charge of Islamabad, as we have seen with events surrounding PTV," said Farooq Hameed Khan, a political commentator and retired brigadier.

"We are witnessing continuous erosion of the government," said one western official in Islamabad. "This is raising questions over the prime minister's future."

On Sunday night General Raheel Sharif, the army's chief of staff, presided over a meeting of the army's top commanders, reviving fears of another coup d'etat in the nuclear-armed nation.

The meeting followed the killings of at least three protesters over the weekend. More than 500 were injured in clashes between demonstrators armed with slingshots and hammers and police.

"Further use of force will only aggravate the problem," said the army in a statement after Gen Sharif's meeting, while calling on rival politicians to resolve their differences. Politicians loyal to Mr Sharif have accused both Mr Khan and Mr Qadri of being backed by army generals who are eager to provoke regime change.

On Sunday Javed Hashmi, a senior leader of Mr Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) or Pakistan Justice Movement, parted ways with Mr Khan, accusing him of marching on the prime minister's residence despite objections from other party members to the confrontational tactic.

In the past Mr Hashmi has publicly expressed dismay over politicians being manipulated by the army. Mr Khan, on the other hand, insists his campaign is meant to consolidate Pakistan's democracy through a democratically acceptable change of government.

Additional reporting by Victor Mallet

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