An Egyptian opposing President Mohamed Morsi chants slogans against the Muslim Brotherhood in Tahrir square in Cairo.-Reuters Photo

CAIRO: Thousands took to the streets across Egypt after opposition groups called for “Friday of dignity” rallies demanding President Mohamed Morsi fulfill the goals of the revolt that brought him to power.

Banging on drums, waving flags and clapping in unison, demonstrators marched from several locations in the capital to Tahrir Square and the presidential palace.

“The people want the downfall of the regime,” the protesters chanted while others slammed interior ministry officials as “thugs”.

In Tahrir, several thousand protesters carried aloft a huge Egyptian flag as they listened to speeches and music from the stage.

Several hundred protesters also gathered outside the presidential palace chanting “Freedom, where are you? Brotherhood rule stands between us,” in reference to the Muslim Brotherhood movement from which Morsi hails.

The protests come after several incidents of police violence last week that caused public outrage and sparked angry demonstrations.

Protests against the president also took place after the weekly Friday Muslim main prayers in several of Egypt’s 27 provinces.

In the Nile Delta city of Kafr el-Sheikh, police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd outside a government building, as protesters hurled stones at the security forces, the official MENA news agency reported.

In Tanta, police clashed with protesters who tried to break into the municipal council building, MENA added.

Thirty-eight opposition parties and movements had joined together to call for the rallies, demanding a new unity government, amendments to the Islamist-drafted constitution and guarantees that the independence of the judiciary be maintained.

Earlier this week, the death of a pro-democracy activist following days in police custody sparked fury and reignited calls for police reform, a key demand of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

His death came just days after footage was aired live on television of a man stripped naked and beaten by riot police during demonstrations near the presidential palace.

The two incidents confronted Morsi with uncomfortable parallels with the old regime.

Friday’s protests come just days after clerics issued fatwas to justify killing opposition leaders.

Radical cleric Mahmud Shaaban, a professor at Sunni Islam’s main seat of learning Al-Azhar, gave the green light to kill opposition leaders including former UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei and ex-presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi, during a talk show on a satellite channel.

Another hardline cleric, Wagdi Ghoneim, also called on Muslims to “kill the thugs, criminals, and thieves who burn the country,” state media reported.

Security was stepped up outside the homes of ElBaradei and Sabbahi ahead of the protests, witnesses told AFP, following orders from the interior minister.

The presidency condemned the fatwas as “terrorism”.

“Some are promoting and inciting political violence while others who claim to speak in the name of religion are permitting ‘killing’ based on political differences and this is terrorism,” the presidency said.

In recent months, Egypt has witnessed regular, often bloody, protests against Morsi who is accused of betraying the revolution that toppled Mubarak.

Opponents have accused him of using his power to promote the interests of his Muslim Brotherhood, long banned under his predecessor.

The country has been deeply divided between Morsi’s mainly Islamist supporters and an opposition of liberals, leftists, Christians but also deeply religious Muslims calling for rights and the separation of religion and state.

Mourners carry the coffins of killed Egyptian activists Amro Saad and Mohammed al-Gindy during their funeral outside Omar Makram Mosque in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on February 4, 2013. — AFP Photoed

CAIRO: An Egyptian opposition party on Monday claimed police tortured one of its members to death, electrocuting him and beating him repeatedly on the head – the latest case alleging police brutality in a crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Mohammed el-Gindy, a 28-year-old activist, died of his wounds early Monday at a Cairo hospital after he was ”tortured to death,” the Egyptian Popular Current party said in a statement. The Interior Ministry had no immediate comment.

El-Gindy went missing for several days after protesting on January 27 in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. The protesters are opposed to Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi’s policies and are pressing him to amend the constitution, which was drafted by a panel dominated by religious conservatives and approved in a public referendum last year.

Party spokeswoman Mona Amer said she saw el-Gindy’s body and that it carried marks of torture. She said he was electrocuted, had broken ribs and a ”cord appeared to have been wrapped around his neck.” A medical report cited brain hemorrhage as cause of death.

Party members were organizing a funeral for el-Gindy and Mohammed Saad, a 20-year-old protester, who also died of his wounds sustained during clashes with security forces on Friday.

More than 60 people have died in recent protests across Egypt that began on January 24, the eve of the second anniversary of the start of the uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

The deaths of the two activists come days after a video surfaced showing riot police beating and dragging naked a man during Friday clashes near Egypt’s presidential palace. The man, Hamada Saber, initially denied police abuse and said protesters undressed him. But later he changed his account of what happened, saying he lied to avoid more problems.

The beating was caught on camera by The Associated Press, and the video was broadcast live on Egyptian television late Friday as protests raged in the streets outside the presidential palace. The AP video showed police trying to bundle the naked man into a police van after beating him.   The beating prompted a rare statement of regret from the Interior Ministry, which promised to investigate the attack. The president’s office said it was pained by the images and called the assault ”shocking.”

Egyptian riot policemen deploy outside the presidential palace in Cairo on February 2, 2013 after a night of clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters. — AFP Photo

CAIRO: Egyptian riot police deployed on Saturday near the presidential palace after a night of clashes between security forces and petrol-bomb throwing protesters that killed one man and injured nearly 100.

The 23-year-old died of a gunshot wound as police used birdshot and tear gas on demonstrators who targeted the palace in rallies against President Mohamed Morsi late on Friday, a senior medical official said.

Ninety-one people were also injured, said the official, while the interior ministry reported 15 of its men wounded by birdshot.

Police said they made 20 arrests, and were filmed on television beating and dragging a naked man to an armoured vehicle, outraging Morsi’s critics who compared the incident to practices under deposed leader Hosni Mubarak.

The opposition National Salvation Front (NSF) is to meet later on Saturday to review its strategy after the clashes that erupted following its call for people to take to the streets.

The NSF called for Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim to resign over the beating of the naked man, which triggered an outpouring of condemnation on social media websites.

“The horrible and degrading images showing the central security officers and police beating and dragging a naked man near the presidential palace should lead to the interior minister’s immediate resignation,” NSF spokesman Khaled Dawoud said.

Ibrahim has ordered a probe to “hold accountable” the policemen who beat the man, his office said.

On Saturday, there was no sign of any protesters, and streets in the area around the presidential palace reopened to traffic, though they were littered with debris.

The smell of tear gas still lingered near the palace, its outer wall scrawled with graffiti including “Topple the regime” and “Freedom.”

In Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square, the situation was also calm after clashes on Friday.

The presidency said security forces would deal with violent protests with “utmost decisiveness” and that it would hold opposition groups found to have incited the clashes “politically accountable.”

Morsi’s Facebook page said the protesters sparked the violence by trying to break into the palace.

The opposition, which accuses Morsi of betraying the revolution that toppled Mubarak two years ago, distanced itself from the violence and urged demonstrators to exercise “utmost restraint.” But hours before the violence erupted, NSF leader and Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei suggested unrest would persist if Morsi kept sidelining his opponents.

“Writing on wall: violence and chaos will continue until Morsi and co. listen to people’s demands: new government, democratic constitution, independent judiciary,” he wrote on Twitter.

People took to the streets in a show of opposition to Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood after deadly unrest swept Egypt last week in the worst violence since Morsi was elected president in June.

The opposition is thought to exert little influence over activists involved in clashes.

“The National Salvation Front represents only itself,” said one masked protester outside the palace. “We are satisfied neither with Morsi nor the opposition.”

Scores of protesters skirmished with riot police several hundred metres from Tahrir Square, witnesses said, and two were wounded by birdshot fired by police.

The clashes were less intense than in the past week.

Nearly 60 people have died in the clashes, mostly in Port Said, where violence erupted after 21 residents were sentenced to death a week ago over football-related violence last year.

Thousands of people protested in the Suez Canal city on Friday calling for Morsi’s removal, unfazed by a strong military presence, and similar marches took place in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria.

The NSF joined political rivals on Thursday in condemning violence and supporting efforts for a national dialogue, while insisting on a unity government and the amendment of the constitution, which polarised the nation when it was passed in December.

The crisis has sapped the popularity of Morsi – who won the June election with a slender majority – and complicated negotiations for a crucial $4.8 billion IMF loan that could help bail out the teetering economy.

In this Friday, Feb. 1, 2013 photo, Tahrir Bodyguard volunteers gather in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt during a Friday protest, one week after the square was the site of attacks on more than 25 women on the second anniversary of the uprising. Wearing neon vests and hardhats, the group, which calls itself Tahrir Bodyguard, aims to deter potential assailants and evacuate women under assault by crowds. — AP Photo

CAIRO: With bright neon vests and hardhats gleaming at dusk, a dozen Egyptian volunteers fanned out through Cairo’s crowded Tahrir Square. Their project: end a surge in sexual assaults on women that activists say has become the darkest stain on the country’s opposition street movement.        

Patrolling on Friday, the men and women have joined Tahrir Bodyguard – one of several informal groups that have arisen to protect female demonstrators after women were stripped, groped and assaulted in a string of attacks this past year. Over the past week alone, while mass protests filled city squares around the country, over two dozen new sexual attacks have been reported – a wave that activists call the worst in years.

Soraya Bahgat said she founded the group using online social media after seeing television footage last November of a mob of men attacking a woman and tearing off her clothes. She had been on the way to a demonstration at Tahrir herself, but instead stayed in, gripped with fear.

”It was sickening. They were dragging her through the street,” said the 29-year-old, who works as a human resources manager. ”I couldn’t imagine something so horrific, and something that fundamentally would keep women from exercising their right to assembly like anyone else. No one should be prevented from demonstrating.”

Such is the concern that the United Nations on Thursday demanded authorities to act to bring perpetrators to justice, saying it had reports of 25 sexual assaults on women in Tahrir rallies over the past week.

Another Egyptian organisation that also patrols the square, Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment/Assault, reported 19 incidents on one day alone. It was January 25^th: The second anniversary of the start of the uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Extraordinary violence has been used in some of the attacks. Human rights campaigner Amnesty International says that some meet the definition of rape, including penetration with fingers and sharp objects.

Frequently, fights with knives and blunt weapons break out when people try to stop the attacks, blurring the lines between those helping and the perpetrators.

”Testimonies from victims and those attempting to save them paint a frightening picture: tens if not hundreds of men surrounding the victims with countless hands tearing-off clothes and veils …” Amnesty’s Egypt researcher Diana Eltahawy wrote in a blog post on Friday.

The activists say they can expect little help from the police, who rarely intervene in such cases and who they accuse of failing to properly investigate allegations. Uniforms are almost never seen at Tahrir during demonstrations except at the fringes, where riot police regularly clash with rock-throwing youths.

Sexual harassment in Egypt is not a new phenomenon. Women on the streets frequently are subjected to everything from stares to cat-calls and attempts to grab them. In previous years, there were instances of young men ganging up to grope girls in parks or on main boulevards during public holidays when large crowds are on the street. The trend however has worsened since the 2011 uprising, which saw a general collapse in security and rise in crime after the fall of Mubarak.

This past June, as women marched through Tahrir demanding an end to harassment, a crowd assaulted them, overwhelming their male guardians and molesting several of the female marchers. And in October during Eid al-Azha, Islam’s biggest holiday, activists trying to protect women were harassed themselves, as hordes of all-male onlookers shouted taunts and blew air horns at them.

Experts, activists and media have attributed the harassment to a wide range of possible factors. Some blame widespread unemployment or underemployment among youth. Others cite an attitude in the conservative nation that women should not be out in public and thus those who are fair game.

Activists have speculated that some attacks are planned, aiming to discredit the protesters or to dissuade women from joining them.

The patrols, which aim to deter potential assailants and evacuate women under assault, have prompted a backlash from harassers.

”We’ve had people beaten up, and in one instance a crowd – some of whom were carrying knives – tried to break into one of our locations,” said Hussein ElShafei of Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment/Assault. ”Threats are a regular occurrence.”

In Tahrir on Friday, the neon-vested team said they had only had to make three interventions during the day’s protest, which they attributed to their high visibility and a smaller turnout in the square than usual. With other groups present, including the one ElShafei works for, dozens of volunteers could be seen in the crowds. Violence that night was concentrated on the other side of the city, where thousands of protesters denouncing the president marched on his palace and clashed with security forces firing tear gas and water cannons.

It was the eighth day of the country’s latest wave of political violence. Around 60 people have been killed in protests, rioting and clashes over the past week, the worst period of crisis since the fall of Mubarak. Observers say the protests are taking a dangerous turn as rival groups supporting and opposing Morsi’s backers have taken matters into their own hands.

“I think people are getting more violent. It’s been two years now and they are battle hardened,” said Mohammed Osama, a 35-year-old computer engineer and black belt in judo who said he joined the bodyguard group after being slashed with a knife in street violence in his hometown of Alexandria. He said that after experiencing violence himself, he wanted to do something to prevent it from striking others.

“Individual efforts aren’t enough — organization is needed. And it’s the honorable thing to do,” he said in measured tones, a scar visible under his eye.

As for the perpetrators of the attacks, he described them as a “social disease.”

“Sometimes attacks are organised, other times it’s people profiting from chaos on the streets, said Osama. “Ignorance and poverty is part of the problem, but for those who seek to victimise others, they now have another thing coming.”

Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shout slogans and fling stones with slingshots at riot policemen along Simon Bolivar Square, which leads to Tahrir Square, in Cairo January 30, 2013. Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi flew to Germany on Wednesday to try to convince Europe of his democratic credentials, leaving behind a country in crisis after a week of violence that has killed more than 60 people. — Reuters Photo

CAIRO: Egypt’s liberal opposition leader called for a broad national dialogue with the Muslim Brotherhood government, all political factions and the powerful military on Wednesday, aimed at stopping the country’s eruption of political violence that has left more than 60 dead the past week.        

Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei’s appeal appeared to be aimed at responding to a sharp warning by the head of the armed forces a day earlier that Egypt could collapse unless the country’s feuding political factions reconcile.

Two more protesters were killed Wednesday when they were hit with birdshot during clashes with police near Cairo’s Tahrir Square, a security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the press.

So far the opposition National Salvation Front headed by ElBaradei and the government of President Mohammed Morsi have been at loggerheads, with the front demanding Morsi make major concessions as a condition for any dialogue.

Morsi has ignored their demands, holding his own ”national dialogue” program, mainly with his own allies.

Meanwhile, violence has spiraled after first erupting in Cairo on the eve of last Friday’s second anniversary of the uprising that toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak. It since spread around the country, with the worst violence in the Suez Canal city of Port Said, which has virtually declared itself in revolt against Morsi’s government.

In response, Morsi declared a 30-day state of emergency and night curfew in Port Said and two other Canal cities, Suez and Ismailiya, and their surrounding provinces. But every night since it went into effect, tens of thousands of residents in the city have defied the curfew with nighttime rallies and marches, chanting against Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, which forms the backbone of his rule.

In a tweet, ElBaradei called for an immediate meeting between Morsi, the defense and interior ministers, the Brotherhood’s political party, the National Salvation Front and parties of the ultraconservative Salafi movement ”to take urgent steps to stop the violence and start a serious dialogue.”

He said stopping the violence is the priority, but stuck by the front’s previous conditions for holding a dialogue: That Morsi form a national unity government and form a commission to amend contentious articles of the constitution.

There was no immediate response from the presidency or the Muslim Brotherhood on ElBaradei’s new call. Morsi was on a brief visit to Germany and was expected back in Egypt later Wednesdsay.

Over the past week, Morsi ignored ElBaradei’s demands, and the Brotherhood said they don’t accept conditions for talks.

The Front has depicted the unrest as a backlash against the Muslim Brotherhood’s insistence on monopolising power and as evidence that the Brotherhood and its allies are unable to manage the country on their own.        Morsi has been holding his own national dialogue programme for more than a month, touting it as a chance for others to make their voice heard in decision-making.

But almost all opposition groups have shunned it as mere window dressing. Officials in the presidency and the Brotherhood have blamed the opposition for instigating the violence, accusing them of trying to bring down Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president.

Late Tuesday, Morsi authorised governors of the three provinces to either cancel or limit curfew hours in an attempt to assuage public anger. Suez Governor General Samer Aglan said that he will ease up the curfew while deploying more troops to the streets after midnight.

An Egyptian protester pours water on the eyes of a victim suffering from exposure to tear gas during clashes with riot police near Cairo’s Tahrir Square on January 28, 2013. — AFP Photo

CAIRO: Egyptian Defence Minister and military chief General Abdel Fattah al Sissi warned on Tuesday that the political crisis rocking the country could lead to the collapse of the state.

Failure to resolve the situation “could lead to grave repercussions if the political forces do not act” to tackle it, Sissi said in comments posted on his Facebook page.

“The continuing conflict between political forces and their differences concerning the management of the country could lead to a collapse of the state and threaten future generations,” Sissi said in the comments, which were extracts of a speech he gave to students at a military academy.

Sissi further warned that the political, economic, social and security problems facing Egypt constitute “a threat to the country’s security and stability”.

He stressed that “the attempts to undermine the stability of state institutions is a dangerous thing that harms national security and the future of the country,” but stressed that “the army will remain strong … as a pillar of the state’s foundations.”

Fifty-two people have died in five days of violence that erupted Thursday night in Egypt as the country marked the second anniversary of the start of the uprising that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.

A curfew has been imposed in three provinces: Port Said, Ismailiya and Suez.

The bloodiest clashes and most of the deaths have occurred in Port Said, with rioting breaking out on Saturday after 21 supporters of a local football club were sentenced to death for their roles in a deadly football riot last year.

Egyptian riot policemen stand guard as protesters try to dismantle a barbed wire fence outside the presidential palace in Cairo on January 25, 2013. Protesters stormed a regional government headquarters and clashed with police as mass rallies shook Egypt on the second anniversary of a revolt that ousted Hosni Mubarak. — AFP Photo

CAIRO: Clashes killed at least 31 people in Egypt’s Port Said as violence raged into the early hours of Sunday in several cities including the capital following death sentences passed on 21 football fans after a riot.

The unrest came after a day of deadly protests against Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, highlighting deep political divisions in the country and long-standing tensions between police and protesters.

Trouble flared just minutes after a court on Saturday handed down the death sentences against fans of Port Said club Al-Masry after 74 people were killed in post-match violence last February following a match with Cairo side Al-Ahly.

Health ministry spokesman Ahmed Omar said 31 people died in the canal city.

In Cairo, police clashed with protesters on the outskirts of Tahrir Square – the symbolic heart of the revolt that ousted Hosni Mubarak in 2011 – firing volleys of tear gas, witnesses said.

Demonstrators blocked the 6 October Bridge, a vital flyover linking east and west Cairo, as police and masked protesters clashed on the Nile corniche.

Many Egyptians believe last year’s deadly stadium riots in Port Said were orchestrated either by the police or by Mubarak supporters, and any verdict was likely to trigger a highly charged response.

Diehard Cairo football fans known as Ultras had threatened widespread chaos if justice was not served, but Port Said residents said the ruling was politically motivated.

Ultras were among the most vocal and active members of the opposition in the anti-Mubarak revolution.

“The government delivered a political ruling that sacrificed our children to avoid chaos,” Ashraf Sayyed, who lives in Port Said, told AFP. “Our children are the scapegoats used to restore calm in the rest of the country.”

On Saturday, protesters in Port Said attacked police stations and relatives of those sentenced to death clashed with security forces as they tried to storm the Port Said jail holding the defendants.

Some attackers used automatic weapons against police who responded with tear gas, witnesses said.

Medics told AFP all the fatalities were from gunfire.

Crowds stormed two police stations as the sound of gunshots crackled through the city, where shops and businesses had closed, an AFP correspondent said.

Ambulances ferried the injured to hospitals as mosques urged worshippers to donate blood.

Soldiers were deployed to restore calm and protect vital public buildings, military sources and witnesses said.

Clashes also erupted in the nearby canal city of Suez, where at least eight people were killed in fighting on Friday.

Protesters stormed four police stations, freed 25 detainees and seized weapons, security sources said.

The opposition, meanwhile, threatened to boycott upcoming parliamentary elections if Morsi does not find a “comprehensive solution” to the unrest.

The National Salvation Front, the main coalition of parties and movements opposing the ruling Islamists, said it would “not participate” in the polls unless a “national salvation” government was formed.

Egypt’s national defence council, which is headed by Morsi, appealed for calm and called for dialogue with “independent national figures” to agree on a mechanism for the polls.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Saturday expressed “great concern” over the violence, urging the authorities “to restore calm and order” and appealing for restraint.

Inside and outside the court on Saturday there were explosions of joy at the football riot verdict. Women ululated, relatives hugged each other and shouted “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest).

“I am satisfied with the verdict,” said a man whose son was killed in the Port Said violence.

Hassan Mustafa, who lost a friend in the riot, said he still wanted “justice served for those who planned the killing.”

Egypt’s top cleric must ratify Saturday’s verdicts, as is customary. The sentences are also subject to appeal. Verdicts will be announced on Mar 9 for another 52 defendants, including nine police officers.

Egyptian protesters take cover as they clash with riot police, not seen, near Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. — Photo AP

CAIRO: Thousands protest against Brotherhood Protesters clashed with police across Egypt on Friday on the second anniversary of the revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak, taking to the streets against the elected Islamist president who they accuse of betraying the revolution.

At least 91 civilians and 42 security personnel were hurt in violence across the country, officials said. Street battles erupted in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Port Said, where the Muslim Brotherhood’s political party offices were torched.

Thousands of opponents of President Mohamed Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood allies massed in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to revive the demands of a revolution they say has been hijacked by the Islamists.

The Jan. 25 anniversary showcased the divide between the Islamists and their secular foes that is hindering Mursi’s efforts to revive an economy in crisis and reverse a plunge in Egypt’s currency by enticing back investors and tourists.

Inspired by Tunisia’s ground-breaking popular uprising, Egypt’s revolution spurred further revolts across the Arab world. But the sense of common purpose that united Egyptians two years ago has given way to internal strife that has only worsened and last month triggered lethal street battles.

“It’s definitely tense on the ground, but so far there hasn’t been anything out of the ordinary or anything that really threatens to fundamentally alter the political situation,” said Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center.

The Brotherhood decided against mobilising for the anniversary, wary of the scope for more conflict after violence in December that was stoked by Mursi’s decision to fast-track an Islamist-tinged constitution rejected by his opponents.

The Brotherhood fiercely denies accusations of trampling on democracy as part of a smear campaign by its rivals.

Before dawn on Friday, police battled protesters who threw petrol bombs and firecrackers as they tried to approach a wall blocking access to government buildings near Tahrir Square.

Clouds of tear gas filled the air. At one point, riot police used one of the incendiaries thrown at them to set ablaze at least two tents erected by the youths, a Reuters witness said.

Skirmishes between stone-throwing youths and the police continued in streets around the square into the day. Ambulances ferried away a steady stream of casualties.

Egyptian demonstrators attend Friday prayers during a protest in Tahrir Square on January 25, 2013. Huge crowds are expected to demonstrate in Egypt on the second anniversary of the revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak. — AFP Photo

CAIRO: Protesters gathered in Egypt’s capital on Friday on the second anniversary of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak, as political tensions simmer and economic woes bite.

Thousands made their way to Cairo’s Tahrir Square and the surrounding streets chanting against the Muslim Brotherhood, the powerful political party from which President Mohamed Morsi hails, with numbers expected to swell in the afternoon.

“The people want the downfall of the regime,” protesters chanted in a street off Tahrir, where some youths threw rocks over a cement wall erected by security forces the day before.

Police clashed Thursday with protesters who tried to dismantle the wall, with sporadic confrontations into the night.

Some demonstrators hurled rocks at riot police who responded with tear gas grenades. The interior ministry said five policemen were injured and appealed to demonstrators to avoid confrontation with the security forces.

The secular-leaning opposition has called for mass protests against Morsi and the Brotherhood, using the same slogan that brought Egypt to its feet in 2011: “Bread, freedom, social justice.”

“Go out into the squares to finally achieve the objectives of the revolution,” opposition leader and former head of the UN’s atomic agency Mohamed El Baradei wrote on his Twitter account.

“May God keep the country safe” read the headline of the independent daily Al Shorouk, as the state-owned Al Gomhuria pleaded for calm by urging people to “side with the nation”.

Friday’s demonstrators were set to gather at Tahrir Square, iconic birthplace of the 2011 revolution, and in front of the presidential palace, where anti-Morsi rallies erupted last December into deadly clashes with supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Rallies were also due to be staged in dozens of other cities and towns, organisers and officials said.

The Muslim Brotherhood has not officially called for its own rallies, instead marking the anniversary by launching a charitable and social initiative dubbed “Together we will build Egypt.”

Morsi urged Egyptians to spend the anniversary in a “peaceful and civilised way,” in a speech on Thursday to mark Eid Milad-un-Nabi (PBUH).

But the threat of violence remained, ahead of a court verdict due on Saturday in the trial of dozens of defendants over the worst football disaster in Egyptian history.

More than 70 people were killed in Port Said in February last year during clashes in the Suez Canal city between fans of home side Al Masry and diehard supporters of Cairo’s Al Ahly, known as Ultras.

Al Ahly supporters warned of violent protests and a “new revolution” if Saturday’s verdict goes against them.

After the seismic political changes of 2011, the Arab world’s most populous nation is struggling to find a balance between a leadership that boasts the legitimacy of the ballot box and opponents who accuse the Muslim Brotherhood of betraying the goals of the revolution that brought them to power.

Egypt is also in the throes of an economic crisis as foreign investment and tourism revenues dwindle, the Egyptian pound stands at its lowest level against the dollar and a budget deficit shows no sign of recovery.

Thousands of anti-government protesters are rallying in the streets of Pakistani capital for second day despite early-morning clashes with police who fired shots and tear gas to disperse the crowd.  — Photo by AP

IN Washington, Tahirul Qadri’s D-chowk is not seen as comparable to Cairo’s Tahrir Square. It is not yet seen as an event that could bring about a major political change in Pakistan as the Tahrir Square did in Egypt.

The uprising in Cairo had the entire American nation in its grips. For weeks, it was front page news in all major newspapers in the United States and also dominated all big television channels.

The popularity of the demand for a change forced the Obama administration to use its influence to persuade former Egyptian president Hosni Mobarak to step down.

The US administration also had a role in preventing the powerful Egyptian military from using force against the protesters. Also for weeks, the developments in Cairo remained a key subject in daily news briefings at the White House, State Department and Pentagon.

Compared to this, Dr Qadri’s march has not yet caught the attention of the American public. Some newspapers did report the event but carried only news agency copies on their inside pages. The electronic media also showed little interest.

Spokespersons at the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon offered no comments and even journalists did not raise the issue at regular news briefings. There’s no emergency meeting of the president’s security cabinet, as was held during
the Egyptian uprising, and there’s no indication that Washington plans to send an official to Islamabad to learn more about the Qadri march.

The general feeling at Washington’s think tanks, and in diplomatic circles, is that President Asif Ali Zardari will survive this crisis as well, as he did other similar crises in the recent past.

Experts on Pakistan affairs at Washington’s think tanks say that even if Mr Zardari is forced to step down, there will be no military takeover. Instead, the military will prefer to bring an interim government of technocrats and back it from behind the
scene.

Washington will react angrily if there’s a military takeover and may impose strict economic sanctions, which the Pakistani military would want to avoid at all cost. They realise that any sanction at this stage will have disastrous consequences for the
Pakistani economy.

But the US reaction to a civilian change will likely be mild, particularly now when the present government has almost completed its tenure.

Diplomatic observers in Washington say that the Obama administration will make no effort to push or protect Mr Zardari. Like most Pakistanis, the Americans also see Mr Zardari as a corrupt and unpopular leader and will not like to be identified with him.
But they will also not like to be seen as working against an elected government.

While the US administration is treading cautiously, Pakistanis living in America are not. The long march dominates all conversations at community gatherings, with some welcoming it as a move that may end a corrupt government while others opposing it as a development that will increase the influence of religion in politics.

“Another cleric, seeking a piece of the political pie, this is definitely not a welcome development,” said Mohsen Bashir Awan of Falls Church, Virginia, when asked to comment.

“People need food, clothes, homes, jobs and electricity, not another fake change.” “Even an MPA needs 60,000 voters to get elected and Mr Qadri wants to topple the government with 50,000 people,” said Agha Raza Ali of Brookfields, Virginia.

“Pakistan has established political parties, they will not allow a new entrant to steamroll them.”

Zahid Ali of Germantown, Maryland, believes “this will pass. Nobody, least of all the army, wants to topple Mr Zardari so close to the election. This will be a big political concession to him.”

But Abdur Rauf, also of Brookfields, Virginia, said “those who have come from across Punjab for this dharna, will not leave like this. This is the end of the Zardari government.”

Shahid Husain of Washington suggested that Dr Qadri was brought because “Imran Khan failed to play his role. Mr Zardari and Nawaz Sharif played him well. So a dark horse was brought in.”

Some commentators suggested that the protest will lead to the formation of a supra-judicial body to supervise the government and the Chief Justice will head this body after retirement.

Others suggested that now was the time for Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to become active and challenge Dr Qadri, although they also acknowledged that he was too young to do so.

Najma Siddiqi, another Pakistani living in Washington, said she learned from “a senior person in Pakistan about 12 months ago that things will get better. The process will not be disrupted, but ‘we will get good people”.