Pakistan protests ease as rival leaders seek negotiated settlement
ISLAMABAD
1 of 6.
Tahir ul-Qadri, Sufi
cleric and opposition leader of political party Pakistan Awami Tehreek
(PAT), addresses supporters while flanked by Imran Khan (R), chairman of
the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party, in
Islamabad September 2, 2014.
Credit: Reuters/Zohra Bensemra
Thousands had tried to storm Sharif's house in protests led by former cricket star Imran Khan and firebrand cleric Tahir ul-Qadri and on Monday briefly took the state television channel off the air, destabilising the coup-prone nation.
Violent scenes in the usually quiet capital have alarmed many people in a nation where power has often changed hands though military coups rather than elections, with some officials accusing the military of orchestrating the unrest as a way of sidelining or even toppling Sharif - a charge it denies.
But tension has significantly eased, with only a couple of thousand of hard-core supporters camped out outside parliament in the high-security Red Zone area in the centre of the capital, and the army protecting key government installations.
Sharif has refused to step down, while protest leaders have rejected his calls to come to the negotiating table, creating a deadlock and prompting fears of military intervention.
But in the latest twist, Khan and Qadri agreed to talk to a committee of opposition politicians seeking to mediate between the government and the protesters and help find a political solution.
"The entire nation is disturbed by the ongoing crisis," said Siraj-ul-Haq, a conservative Islamist politician leading the mediation effort. "(Khan's party) has accepted our request (to hold talks) with an open heart and we are thankful to them."
The crisis has taken many turns since protests broke out in mid-August, subsiding at times only to flare up again in violence, with most commentators saying it was too early to say whether a negotiated solution was in sight.
With protest leaders adamant on their demand that Sharif step down, it was, however, unclear what kind of face-saving solution negotiations might bring to avoid further confrontation or the possibility of a crackdown.
Few commentators think the army is bent on seizing power again but even if Sharif survives, he would emerge significantly weakened and likely play second-fiddle to the army on key security and foreign policy issues.
'WHERE DO WE GO?'
As the crisis dragged on through its third week, Sharif sought to boost his standing by convening a week-long emergency joint session of parliament where he enjoys a solid majority, and the chamber has rallied behind the embattled prime minister.
The assembly saw chaotic scenes, however, on Wednesday as a lawmaker representing Imran Khan's party took the floor to lay out opposition demands, with a sombre-looking Sharif making a show of walking out just before the speech.
Khan and Qadri have accused Sharif of rigging last year's election and have vowed not to abandon their protest movement until he resigns.
"This is a deadlock, where do we go from here?" vice chairman of Khan's PTI party, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, asked the chamber. "We are here today because of the impasse ... We are protesting to save parliament, not to destroy it."
Sharif served two terms as prime minister in the 1990s before being ousted in a 1999 coup. He won an election last year but has been at odds with the army since returning to office in Pakistan's first democratic transition of power.
He annoyed the generals by calling for better ties with old rival India as well as resisting an army plan for an offensive against Pakistani Taliban insurgents. The army has long seen main foreign relations and security as its areas of responsibility.
The treason trial of a former army chief and president, Pervez Musharraf, who launched the 1999 coup, has also angered the military.
Sharif has yet to speak at this week's parliament session.
Just outside the assembly, the protest site was quiet, with activists resting on the grass or sleeping in tents.
But the centre of the capital remained paralysed, with many streets blocked by police. Some residents were alarmed by the emergence of checkpoints staffed by protesters wielding clubs on the central street leading to main government buildings.
(Writing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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