Imran Khan to march to Parliament, army to protect 'Red Zone'

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's opposition leader Imran Khan today asked his supporters to march to the heavily- guarded 'Red Zone' here to force Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's resignation, prompting authorities to hand over the security of the sensitive area to the army as fears of violence gripped the coup-prone country.

Khan and Canada-based firebrand cleric Tahir-ul Qadri have been protesting for the last six days against alleged rigging in the 2013 elections, putting the PML-N-led government on the backfoot.

"Today InshaAllah r peaceful non-violent Azadi March will move on 2 Constitution Ave.I will lead the March myself. Defining moment 4 Pakistan," Khan tweeted.

"Our Azadi March is constitutional & democratic," the cricketer-turned-politician, who spent the night in a shipping container at the site of the sit-in, said.

The government has so far forbidden protesters from breaching the Red Zone housing key state buildings like Supreme Court of Pakistan, Parliament House, the President and the Prime Minister's residences and other important buildings including embassies of various countries.

In the 2013 polls, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) got 34 seats in the 342-member National Assembly, the third largest bloc in the legislature.

There are fears that any attempt by marchers to the Red Zone could lead to confrontation.

Security has been tightened in the area after Khan called on marchers to enter it to stage a peaceful protest in the 'fake' (National) assembly and 'fake' Prime Minister House.

More than 40,000 security personnel have been deployed to protect the sensitive areas.

Pakistan Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan said the government has decided to hand over the security of the 'Red Zone' to army to prevent protesters from entering it.

"We have decided to hand the security of Islamabad's Red Zone to the army," he said.

Nisar said the three-layered security cordon of police, paramilitary Rangers and army will protect any breach of the 'Red Zone'.

The announcement came after Army Chief General Raheel Sharif met the Prime Minister to discuss the security of the sensitive area in the capital. They agreed to deploy army to keep peace in the 'Red Zone'.