Thousands of opposition activists in Pakistan are heading towards the capital, Islamabad, demanding that the Prime Minister Nowaz Sharif step down.
Pakistan Protesters Head Towards Capital
They are heeding to separate calls by two leading figures, Imran Khan of the PTI party, and an influential religious leader, Tahir Ul-Qadri, to converge on the capital to mount pressure on the prime minister.
The rallies are seen as the strongest challenge yet to the government of Nawaz Sharif, just a year after he took office in the first democratic transfer of power in a country long plagued by military coups.
The protesters set out on Thursday from the city of Lahore in cars, trucks and buses, while others walked or drove motorcycles as they embarked on the 300km long journey to Islamabad.
Khan, the leader of the PTI, the third-largest party in parliament, is demanding a fresh general election, alleging that Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz party rigged the 2013 polls.
Qadri, a Canada-based religious leader and a former member of parliament, runs a large international network of religious schools. He says Sharif's government is corrupt.
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