Followers of Populist Cleric Clash with Pakistan Police

Followers of a populist cleric, who threatened to march on Pakistan's capital and overthrow the government, clashed with police Friday after authorities blocked all roads leading to his headquarters in Lahore.

The clashes erupted after hundreds of baton wielding supporters of Tahir-ul-Qadri tried to remove shipping containers used to block the roads to his base in the upscale Model Town area.

Police fired tear gas and baton charged the crowd after one of the containers was removed.

The protesters also pelted stones at the police which injured at least three officials, said Rana Mashhud Ahmad, law minister for Punjab province.

Qadri on Thursday threatened to march on the Pakistani capital and overthrow the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

A statement released by his Pakistan awami Tehreek (PAT) movement quoted him as saying the group would have "no choice other than giving a final call of revolution to the entire nation to come out on streets and march towards Islamabad and provincial capitals to topple (the) government," should the arrests of his followers continue.

He alleged that more than 500 followers were arrested by police in a campaign of intimidation.

Qadri, who is normally Canada-based, returned to Pakistan in June to lead what he terms a "peaceful revolution".

Clashes between Qadri supporters and police in June left 14 activists dead in a rare example of political violence in the relatively peaceful Punjab province.

The cleric had previously announced a mass prayer session for the victims of June's violence to be held on August 10 in Lahore but it is unclear whether he plans to march on the capital the same day.

A religious moderate, Qadri commands tens of thousands of followers and held a disruptive four-day sit-in protest against the government in 2013, months ahead of the election that saw Sharif come to power for the third time.