Pakistani police snipers shoot gunman during Islamabad stand-off
TV viewers see police snipers take action after man fires on politician who tried to disarm him
Pakistani police snipers shot and seriously wounded a gunman who was tackled live on television by a politician during a dramatic stand-off close to Islamabad's high-security political quarter.
The man, who was with his wife and children as he issued demands for the imposition of Islamic law, was said to be fighting for his life after the five-hour incident, which shut down part of the city on Thursday.
Identified by Pakistani media as Mohammad Sikandar, the man touted two semi-automatic guns as he smoked cigarettes while giving interviews to TV stations over his mobile phone.
"Muslims are being subjected to cruelties everywhere in the world," Sikandar told Dunya News as his children sat in the back of the Toyota Corolla and his wife stood calmly nearby. At one point she handed a note to a plain-clothed police negotiator.
The stand-off began at around 5.30pm when police flagged down the car for a traffic violation in the central Jinnah Avenue neighbourhood - less than a kilometre from the presidency and parliament buildings.
Sikandar then started firing into the air, forcing markets and shops to close. Crowds of onlookers gathered as TV anchors broadcasting the incident live on air queried how checkpoints had failed to stop an armed man from driving into the sensitive area.