Sharif joins Pakistan protesters
 Nawaz Sharif has been a long-term opponent of the President Zardari |
Pakistani opposition leader Nawaz Sharif has joined supporters on a march to the capital Islamabad to stage an anti-government protest.
Hours ahead of the planned march, there were reports that President Asif Ali Zardari was about to reinstate sacked Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
The reinstatement of Mr Chaudhry and other judges has been a key opposition demand amid a growing political crisis.
Mr Sharif earlier defied an apparent bid to place him under house arrest.
Hundreds of police had surrounded his home in Lahore but the government denied that he was being detained.
There were clashes as police fired tear gas and baton charged Sharif supporters who threw stones at the police.
Sharif activists later managed to overcome barriers blocking access to the main highway to Islamabad and Mr Sharif left Lahore in a convoy.
Power struggle
Mr Sharif's party, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), has been planning a "long march" to arrive in Islamabad on Monday to stage a sit-in to demand the reinstatement of judges sacked by former President Pervez Musharraf.
 Iftikhar Chaudhry and other judges were sacked by Gen Musharraf |
Mr Sharif is expected to arrive in Rawalpindi - near Islamabad - in the early hours of Monday.
He is due to be joined there by his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, former chief minister of the Punjab, and leaders of the lawyers' movement demanding the judges' reinstatement.
President Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and army chiefs were reported to be holding overnight talks aimed at thrashing out a deal to restore Mr Chaudhry and about 60 other judges sacked by Gen Musharraf.
An announcement on the outcome of the talks was expected shortly.
The campaign over the judges has become a power struggle between Mr Sharif and President Zardari, says the BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad.
The government has arrested hundreds of opposition activists and banned rallies, saying they could trigger violence.
Our correspondent says it is not clear if Mr Sharif will be able to reach Islamabad, given the authorities have blocked routes leading to the capital.
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She says the unrest has alarmed the West, which wants Pakistan to focus on the battle against the Taleban on the Afghan border.
The tensions between Mr Zardari and Mr Sharif date back to the 1990s, but the two formed a brief partnership in government after parliamentary elections in February 2008.
President Zardari had promised to bring back the judges when he took office last year following his wife's assassination.
But Mr Sharif's party later left the alliance, complaining of reluctance by Mr Zardari's Pakistan People's Party to reinstate the sacked judges.
The latest crisis was sparked by a Supreme Court decision to ban Mr Sharif and his brother Shahbaz from elected office, and President Zardari's decision to put their stronghold in Punjab province under direct rule from Islamabad.
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