Zee Media Bureau/Supriya Jha
Islamabad: As both the leaders demanding PM Nawaz Sharif's resignation continued upping the ante against the government, there seemed to be no let-up in sight for Pakistan crisis, despite reports that the third round of talks between Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the ruling PML-N had been fruitful.
On one hand, cleric and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahir ul-Qadri gave a 48-hour ultimatum to the government to dissolve assemblies; while Imran Khan, on the other hand, appeared cashing in on a former election official's revelations that he said, confirmed his rigging allegations against the PML-N government.
PAT chief Qadri, who has been leading parallel protest rally along with Imran Khan's march, repeated his demand for the government to dissolve, register FIR and hand over them to police.
In a impassioned speech, that moved some protesters to tears according to a Dawn news report, Qadri said that he had started the mission with an “intention of martyrdom to fight for the rights of oppressed & downtrodden” Pakistanis.
PTI chief Imran Khan too, has been relentless in demanding PM's resignation since he started Azadi march on August 15 and yesterday he thanked God for “proving the allegations” against Nawaz Sharif's rigging claims after a former election official Afzal Khan appeared in an interview, talking about rigging in May 2013 elections that saw Nawaz Sharif return to power.
“After the disclosure of Afzal Khan, the former Additional Secretary of the ECP, it is evident that the general elections of May 2013 were full of rigging incidents,” Khan told a crowd of his supporters.
Imran also accused former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry of playing a leading role in the rigging and help the PML-N win the elections.
Despite negotiations being fruitful, the deadlock continues as even after three round of talks, Imran Khan proposed resignation by the prime minister only for 30 days.
However, according to Pak media reports, PML-N regime categorically rejected the proposal that Nawaz Sharif should go for even a month of hibernation.
However, after three rounds of talks ending on Saturday night, the PTI proposed resignation by the prime minister only for 30 days.
In what are the biggest anti-government challenges yet to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who took office last year in the first democratic transfer of power, Imran Khan of the PTI and PAT leader Tahir-ul-Qadri, have been leading huge protest rallies against the government that entered Day 12 today, demanding his resignation on the claims that last year's elections were rigged.
The anti-government protests threaten Pakistan's political stability which has in past seen several coups.
First Published: Tuesday, August 26, 2014, 09:31
