Pakistan deployed thousands of police and paramilitary forces after giving protesters two hours to disperse a days-long sit-in on the streets of the capital, sources said.
Several thousand demonstrators have been camped at Islamabad’s Constitution Avenue close to key government buildings, including the presidency and parliament, since late Sunday.
Supporters of executed assassin Mumtaz Qadri, who was hung on February 29, say they have submitted a list of demands.
“An operation will be conducted if the participants of dharna (sit-in) do not disperse in a few hours,” a security source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“Leaders of the protesters have been given a notice in this regard,” he said, adding that they had been given two hours to disperse.
If they do not, he said, “law enforcement agencies shall take action” by removing them.
A legal notice issued to the protesters and seen by AFP accused them of attempting “to frustrate the government’s drive against terrorism”.
A police source said more than 5,000 security forces would be deployed, including the paramilitary Rangers and Frontier Corps with reinforcements from the Punjab police.
Army troops are already standing guard at government buildings near the protest site. (AFP)
