Islamabad: Pakistani opposition leader Imran Khan accused the government of placing him under virtual house arrest in Islamabad on Friday as his supporters in nearby Rawalpindi fought running battles with the police.
There was no immediate report of injuries and the violence eased as darkness fell, but a handful of protesters defying a ban on public gatherings continued to clash with police.
The political strife has come at an awkward time for Sharif, as relations between his ruling PML-N party and the powerful military have been strained by a newspaper leak about a security meeting that angered army officials.
Khan, a former cricket hero, told reporters outside his home that he had been placed "under almost house arrest" by scores of police officers stationed around his home in Islamabad.
"To all my activists, you have to prepare for November 2, you have to escape capture," he said.
Khan called for nationwide protests on Friday after 38 activists from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were arrested a day earlier during a raid by baton-wielding police on an indoor youth rally in Islamabad.
Sheikh Rashid, a Khan ally from the Awami Muslim League (AML) party, cancelled the planned rally but joined his supporters in the streets of Rawalpindi.
Police said they did not have orders for his arrest.
Authorities blocked main roads leading to the Rawalpindi rally with shipping containers and obstructed the rally site with trucks and containers, keeping PTI supporters from gathering there en masse.
A PTI source told Reuters the party's rally planned for Saturday in Islamabad was also likely to be called off.VOW TO SHUT SCHOOLS, AIRPORT
Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Mushtaq Ahmed said Khan's party would need official permission, in the form of a so-called "No Objection Certificate" (NOC), to host any events, including Wednesday's shutdown strike.
"You need an NOC for anything - whether it's a media function or a marriage function. Even for a birthday party of more than five people, you need an NOC," he told Reuters.
Holding offshore companies is not illegal in Pakistan, but Khan has implied the money was gained by corruption. He admitted in May that he used an offshore company himself to legally avoid paying British tax on a London property sale.
The ruling party has dismissed Khan's shutdown plan as a desperate move by a politician whose popularity is waning ahead of the next general election, likely to be held in May 2018.
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