Pakistani police fired tear gas and rounded up protesters in the capital Friday, with the nuclear-armed nation in turmoil since a court banned the top opposition leader from contesting elections. The cabinet met to discuss the crisis and paramilitaries went on alert as thousands rallied, one day after the country marked the biggest protests yet against President Asif Ali Zardari, who took office last September.
Protesters are heeding a call from former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who leads the second largest party in Pakistan, to rise up after the Supreme Court Wednesday barred him and his brother from holding public office.
Zardari and Sharif are at loggerheads over the future of Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in the fight against Taliban and al-Qaeda militancy which has been teetering under financial crisis, Islamist extremism and weak government.