Pak politics boils over: Nawaz barred from polls, brother ousted

Protests erupted across Pakistan today after the Supreme Court barred opposition PML-N chief and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from contesting polls and declared the election of his brother Shahbaz, chief minister of Punjab province, as null and void, effectively dismissing him and setting the stage for renewed political confrontation in a country grappling with rising militancy.

Describing the verdict as a “diktat”, Sharif accused President Asif Ali Zardari of hatching a conspiracy against him and challenged him to hold a referendum on the judgment. Within hours of the ruling, Zardari imposed Governor’s rule in Punjab, the country’s most populous province, for a period of two months.

Supporters of the Sharifs took to the streets in hundreds, grappling with police and tearing down Zardari banners and posters.

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