Imran Khan vows to stay in front of Parliament till Nawaz Sharif quits

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's anti-government protesters on Saturday had a quiet day in the capital's high security area where they have been camping demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's resignation, even as opposition leader Imran Khan vowed to continue the sit-in until goals achieved.

Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Khan promised his supporters that he would stay in front of the Parliament till Sharif quits.

"There are thousands of people here who are not ready to go away without your (Sharif) resignation," he said today.

Khan's supporters from Islamabad and Rawalpindi go to their homes in the night and spend the day in their daily activities, but turned up for the protest in the evening.

Earlier, Khan moved his makeshift stage, set-up on a shipping container mounted on a truck, from in front of the Secretariat buildings to the D-Chowk facing the Parliament.

Populist cleric Tahir-ul Qadri of Pakistan Awaami Tehreek is also camping close to Khan's camp. His supporters have vacated the parking lot of the Parliament and are now sitting near the Constitution Avenue.

Khan wants the ruling PML-N government's ouster over alleged rigging in last year's polls which his party lost, while Qadri wants to bring a revolution in the country.

Both the leaders are agitating since August 14. Khan's supporters have refused to vacate the Avenue despite the Supreme Court asking them to open one side of the road for traffic.

Khan and Qadri have held separate talks with the government for a political agreement to end the protests. The two sides have expressed satisfaction over the talks but so far no major breakthrough has been achieved to end the crisis.

Pakistan government had proposed a judicial commission to probe the alleged rigging while Sharif has shown willingness to resign if the charges against him are proved.