At Least 3 Protesters Die and Over 400 Are Wounded in Clashes in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - At least one protester died and more than 400 people were wounded in overnight clashes between the Pakistani police and opponents of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, officials said Sunday.

The violence, which took place in the Red Zone in Islamabad, the capital - a high-security area that includes key government buildings and diplomatic missions - resulted in at least 100 arrests. Two opposition leaders, Imran Khan, a charismatic former cricket star, and Muhammad Tahir-ul Qadri, an influential cleric, have been leading twin protest movements calling for Mr. Sharif's resignation and the formation of a new government.

The demonstrations had drawn large but peaceful crowds for weeks, but clashes broke out Saturday night after the groups tried to march toward Mr. Sharif's residence.

The situation was still tense on Sunday, after protesters had used wire cutters to break through a barbed-wire fence surrounding Parliament on Saturday night and used a truck to ram a metal fence, gaining entrance to the main building. The protesters stopped their advance after troops stationed inside the building issued a warning.

The police used rubber bullets and tear gas in their clashes with baton- and stick-wielding protesters, government officials said.

By Sunday, protesters had erected tents on the expansive lawns in front of the main Parliament building. Mr. Khan emerged briefly out of a specially converted container and waved to the crowds.

He had mostly stayed inside overnight as his supporters clashed with the police amid heavy use of tear gas. Mr. Khan had earlier said that he would lead from the front if clashes erupted with the police. Mr. Qadri, too, spent most of the time in his vehicle during the clashes, surrounded by his supporters.

A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that tear-gas canisters were fired first by the Frontier Constabulary, a paramilitary police force, after protesters tried to trespass on the presidential residence. Soon after, the police also started firing tear gas on advancing waves of protesters.

The official said that the government did not plan to arrest Mr. Khan or Mr. Qadri but that it was planning to 'push them out of the Red Zone.'