Friday, November 28, 1997 Published at 07:16 GMT
World: South Asia
Protesters halt Pakistani PM court case
Sajjad Ali Shah versus Nawaz Sharif: Pakistan's constitutional crisis
The trial of Pakistan's Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, has been halted after his supporters forced their way into the Supreme Court building in Islamabad
The protest is the latest twist in the country's constitutional crisis, which started over the appointment of five new judges to the Supreme Court.
The two men are under considerable pressure from the country's powerful armed forces to resolve the situation constitutionally.
Mr Ali Shah's position in the court has become increasingly uncertain after an internal struggle emerged in the Supreme Court over his status. Four of his fellow judges in two separate hearings ruled he was suspended from office because he was not the most senior judge when he was appointed.
Friday's trouble started when one of Mr Sharif's Members of Parliament climbed over the gates in front of the court to get inside.
A crowd of a few hundred party supporters then began to follow him and, as the police and the security forces in riot gear stood by and did nothing, they pushed open the gates and ran into the court compound.
A few members of the crowd got into the court building and ran to windows and onto the roof of the entrance, chanting slogans against the Chief Justice.
Amid the commotion a court official ran to the courtroom and said the Chief Justice was in danger. The judges immediately adjourned proceedings and left the room.