Large-scale protests in Pak over SC ruling on Sharif

Pakistan headed for a fresh political turmoil as hundreds of agitated PML-N cadres took to the streets for the second day and vented their anger against President Asif Ali Zardari following the Supreme Court order barring Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif from contesting polls.

Pakistan on Thursday headed for a fresh political turmoil as hundreds of agitated PML-N cadres took to the streets for the second day and vented their anger against President Asif Ali Zardari following the Supreme Court order barring Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif from contesting polls.

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Even as former Premeir Nawaz Sharif stepped up his attack against Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani sought to reach out to the PML-N, saying his party wanted reconciliation with the opposition.

Gilani said he was "saddened" by the court order yesterday barring Nawaz and his brother Shahbaz from contesting polls and holding public office.

"We wanted reconciliation and we are moving towards that. We wanted the process of reconciliation to continue," Gilani told reporters.

Hundreds of agitated PML-N cadres took to the streets across the country and torched the pictures of Zardari, who dismissed the PML-N Government in Punjab Province after the apex court order.

The epicenter of the large-scale protests was Punjab province, a stronghold of PML-N, where normal life was crippled as schools, colleges, shops and business centres remained shut due to apprehensions about the protests turning violent.