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 The protesters have taken to the streets of Islamabad for five
days, led by cricket star turned opposition leader Imran Khan and
cleric Tahir ul-Qadri, who runs a network of Islamic schools and
charities.
Both want Sharif to resign over allegations of corruption and
election rigging. The Supreme Court summoned both to appear before
the court on Thursday.
The peaceful protests have raised questions over the stability of
the nuclear-armed nation of 180 million people. Its civilian
government is struggling to assert its authority after decades when
the country swung between democracy and military rule.
The coup-prone South Asian nation is also plagued by high
unemployment, daily power cuts and a Taliban insurgency.
Anti-Western and violent sectarian groups are gaining strength.
Most protesters say they are demonstrating against government
corruption, which they blame for the country's widespread poverty.
On Tuesday night, protesters used cranes and bolt cutters to
dismantle police barricades and surround parliament. On Wednesday,
Qadri urged the crowd to barricade lawmakers and the prime minister
inside as they met to discuss the crisis.
"Don't let all those inside come out and don't let anyone go in," he
told supporters.
His exhausted followers, some carrying blankets or colorful
umbrellas, were resting in the shade on the grass on Constitution
Avenue when he spoke. But they immediately rose to block the
entrance to parliament.
Riot police and paramilitary forces in the area did not intervene
and Qadri urged the crowd to remain peaceful.
"If you and the army come face to face, don't raise your hand. If
you do, you will not be welcome amongst us," Qadri said.
Legislators left parliament by a back entrance. Lawmaker Marvi
Memon, from the ruling party, said every parliamentarian present had
denounced the protests and offered support to the government.
"This affront to parliamentary democracy has been noted," she said.
"This is only a handful of people and they do not represent the will
of the people."
Parliament would reconvene on Thursday, she said. But Khan has
given Sharif until 8 p.m. (1100 EST) on Wednesday to resign or face
an invasion of protesters at the prime minister's official
residence.
"Now no police nor army will stop us," he told supporters on
Tuesday. If Sharif did not step down, he said, "we will come to the
prime minister's house".
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The military, which often acts as an arbiter when it is not ruling
directly, has called for a political solution to the crisis.
"Situation requires patience, wisdom and sagacity from all
stakeholders to resolve prevailing impasse through meaningful
dialogue in larger national and public interest," military spokesman
General Asim Bajwa tweeted as the protesters approached parliament.
Last month, the civilian government made the military officially
responsible for the security of top government offices. All the
protesters have been careful not to offend the military, which is
Pakistan's most powerful institution.
The country's other two power centers are the embattled civilian
government and the activist judiciary, which waded into the fray on
Wednesday when Chief Justice Nasir ul-Mulk summoned Khan and Qadri
to appear on Thursday over a petition filed against their protests.
Pakistan's top courts can declare an interest in any case or accept
and investigate a complaint from any petitioner. They can also
charge those who question their decisions with contempt of court.
Khan wants Sharif to step down because he believes the prime
minister rigged last year's polls. Sharif won the election by a
landslide, taking 190 out of 342 seats in the national assembly.
The polls were the first democratic transfer of power in Pakistan's
history and also propelled Khan from a fringe player to head of the
third-largest legislative bloc in the country.
Qadri wants Sharif to step down because he says the system is
corrupt. He has promised free housing for the homeless, and welfare
and subsidized food and electricity for the poor.
(Additional reporting by Mehreen Zahra-Malik; Writing by Katharine
Houreld; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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