Protesters in Islamabad ‘willing to die’ in support of hanged murderer
ISLAMABAD — Islamist protesters gathered in the Pakistani capital said on Wednesday they would not end their days-long sit-in and were "willing to die", as armed security forces readied to clear the camp.The stand-off, which comes as Pakistan mourns more than 70 people killed in a Taliban suicide bombing targeting Christians celebrating Easter Sunday in Lahore, underscores deep religious divisions fuelling the Muslim country’s long battle with extremism. Several thousand protesters marched on Islamabad Sunday, clashing with security forces before setting up camp outside key government buildings along the capital’s main Constitution Avenue.The protestors — who numbered some 25,000 at their peak — had gathered in support of Mumtaz Qadri, who was hanged in late February five years after he assassinated a liberal Punjab governor over his calls to reform the country’s blasphemy laws.The government gave the demonstrators an ultimatum to leave late on Tuesday, but it went unheeded, prompti...
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