Pakistan’s parliament threw its weight behind embattled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday as a deepening crisis over violent protests demanding his resignation prompted fears of an army intervention.
Signalling a possible softening of his position, protest leader Imran Khan said he would meet a conservative Islamist politician who has been trying to mediate between Khan and the government since the start of the confrontation.
Sharif, who enjoys a solid majority in parliament, convened a joint session of the assembly as he sought to reaffirm that he is fully in control more than two weeks after protests seeking to bring down his government erupted in the coup-prone nation.
Convening the week-long parliamentary session appears to be part of Sharif’s attempt to divert attention from the streets and shift the conflict into the political arena.
“This is not a protest, a sit-in or a political gathering. This is a rebellion. It is a rebellion against state institutions. It is a rebellion against the state of Pakistan,” Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar told parliament.
“Clear guidance from this parliament would give strength to the police. They are not revolutionaries, they are intruders and terrorists,” he said of the protesters.
Aitzaz Ahsan from the opposition Pakistan People’s Party said: “As you have said, you will not resign, no one can force you to resign. The entire parliament is with you.”
Pakistan has been in turmoil since mid-August when tens of thousands of protesters led by Khan, a former hero cricket player, and outspoken cleric Tahir ul-Qadri flooded into the capital Islamabad, refusing to leave unless Sharif resigns. Although the military had stepped in to attempt a mediation between Sharif and his opponents, few believe that they want to take power again.
The protesters accuse the government of corruption and Sharif of rigging last year’s election. They have categorically refused any talks. Sharif denies their accusations and has urged them to come to the negotiating table.
Speaking outside parliament, Khan told supporters he would meet Siraj-ul-Haq, head of the Islamist Jamaat-i-Islami party, later in the day to discuss the situation. But he stopped short of saying he was ready for talks with the government.
He added that lawmakers from his party, who had earlier quit their seats in parliament, would attend Wednesday’s session in the legislature to present their views - another move possibly taking the violent confrontation a step closer to the field of political dialogue.
The capital was quiet yesterday, with no reports of violence, after the situation had turned deadly over the weekend leaving three dead and hundreds wounded. As deputies made their impassioned speeches, a crowd of a few thousand protesters massed peacefully just outside in the so-called Red Zone - a central area where Sharif’s office, ministries and many embassies are located.
Divisions
Seriously denting Khan’s support among his ranks, the head of his own Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party said that Khan was effectively acting on the orders of the army, suggesting that the crisis was akin to a soft coup.
Javed Hashmi, Khan’s right-hand man and a veteran politician, has fallen out with his leader and condemned protesters’ attempt to storm Sharif’s house over the weekend.
During his speech in parliament, Hashmi criticised Sharif’s policies but stopped short of calling on him to quit.
Sharif, who was ousted in an army coup in 1999, has been at odds with the army since he swept to power last year in Pakistan’s first democratic transition of power.
He has displeased the top brass by calling for better diplomatic and trade relations with India and Afghanistan as well as resisting the army’s plan to mount an offensive against Islamist Taliban insurgents in Pakistan’s northwest.
The treason trial of a former army chief and president, Pervez Musharraf, who launched the 1999 coup against Sharif, has also angered the military.