Utter chaos prevailed in the VIP area of the Pakistan capital late tonight with the 17-day-old standoff between protesters and the government taking a new turn after thousands of protesters armed with lathis broke through security cordons and were marching towards the residence of the besieged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
One woman was killed in police firing and 50 other protesters were injured.
However, a section of the Pakistani media put the death toll at seven, although the figure could not be confirmed.
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Close to midnight, turmoil prevailed in the heart of Islamabad after a number of demonstrators refused to disperse from the protest site.
As tension mounted, Sharif left for Lahore. A late night government announcement categorically ruled out Sharif's resignation.