Pakistani anti-government protesters stormed the state TV building on Monday, forcing the channel briefly off air as they clashed anew with police and pushed further into a sprawling government complex in the capital, Islamabad, in an effort to reach the prime minister's residence, according to Reuters.

The violence is the latest in the turmoil roiling Pakistan, where anti-government cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri and cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan have been leading twin protests since mid-August calling on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign, Reuters reported.

The protests began with a march to Islamabad from the eastern city of Lahore on the country's Independence Day, Aug. 14, Reuters reported. Once in the capital, the protesters camped out near the parliament, pushing their demands.

On Monday, Pakistani television showed images of the protesters and police clashing in various areas of the Red Zone, a sprawling complex of government buildings and grassy lawns in the center of Islamabad, according to Reuters. The protesters, many of whom were wearing gas masks and were armed with batons, could be seen hurling rocks at policemen.

Over the weekend, three people died and hundreds were injured in what amounted to running street battles between the police and the demonstrators, according to Reuters.

The rallies against Sharif constitute the biggest threat to his government little more than one year in office, Reuters reported. Qadri and Khan allege widespread fraud in the country's May 2013 election, in which Sharif's party won by a landslide.

The protesters made it to a gate that surrounds the prime minister's residence where they were met by paramilitary Rangers and army troops, Reuters reported. Once at the gate, the protesters staged a sit-in and did not appear to seek to go further as Qadri asked his followers to stay put.

International observers found no evidence indicating rampant election tampering, and several rounds of negotiations between representatives of Khan and Qadri and the government have failed to make any headway, according to Reuters.