Pakistani police fire tear gas at Islamists blockading capital

A demostrator detained by police gestures after being hit by a policeman as he is led to a police van near the Faizabad junction in Islamabad, Pakistan November 25, 2017. REUTERS/Caren Firouz

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani police used tear gas and watercannon, and fought running battles with stone-throwing Islamist activists, as they moved to clear a sit-in by the religious hard-liners who have blocked the main routes into the capital of Islamabad for more than two weeks.

The protests have spread to other main cities, including Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar.