Tuesday October 12, 12:08 pm Eastern Time
By Scott McDonald
ISLAMABAD, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Pakistani army troops were seen climbing over walls into the state-run Pakistan Television centre on Tuesday and shots were heard in a suburb of the capital Islamabad soon after the army chief was sacked.
The official residence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was also surrounded by troops following Sharif's dismissal of General Pervez Musharraf.
Witnesses, including local reporters, said troops had taken up positions around Sharif's residence near parliament and BBC TV reported the homes of other ministers and Sharif's brother, the governor of Punjab province, had also been surrounded.
It was not known where Sharif was. However, some unconfirmed reports said he had been told not to leave his home.
There was confusion about what exactly was happening. There was no confirmation of a coup or of any clashes in the capital.
As soldiers deployed at key sites in the capital, shots were heard in a suburb of Islamabad, according to a witness.
``I can hear what appear to be shots or the sound of gunfire,'' the witness told Reuters in London by telephone from the Pakistan capital.
The witness said the shots appeared to be coming from the Margalla hill diplomatic district.
AIRPORTS CLOSED
The airports in Islamabad, Lahore and Pakistan's financial capital Karachi were sealed off by troops, other unconfirmed reports said.
Exiled Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto told BBC television in London that Pakistan appeared to be in a state of civil war.
``When you hear reports that the military is fighting with the civil government and elements of the military are supporting the... government, well, that looks very much like civil war to me,'' Bhutto told the BBC in an interview. She had just been asked if it was too early to speak of civil war.
Sharif was shown earlier on state television meeting with Lieutenant-General Ziauddin, chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence, whom he named as the new army chief.
No reason was given for Musharraf's sacking, which the official APP news agency said took place ``with immediate effect'' late on Tuesday afternoon.
There has been tension between Sharif and the military since the prime minister bowed to U.S. pressure and called for the withdrawal of Pakistan-backed freedom fighters from the Indian side of disputed Kashmir in early July.
The local Urdu language station of the network went off the air shortly after the soldiers were seen climbing over the walls and taking positions around the network centre.
The network's stations went off the air after the troops moved in.
Witnesses saw a military jeep being turned back by civilians in blue uniforms posted at the gate of the Pakistan Television Headquarters in downtown Islamabad.
A few minutes later a military truck with a few dozen armed soldiers drove by and the police brought themselves to attention but the truck did not stop.
After about 20 minutes a military officer leading about two dozen troops came and shouted ``get away, get away'' and the police stepped back without offering any resistance.
There was confusion across Pakistan, as PTV stations had gone off the air and state radio was playing just music.
Witnesses saw a large number of soldiers at the official residence of Information Minister Mushahid Hussain but there was no immediate wort on his whereabouts.