Pakistani opposition politician Imran Khan’s party yesterday announced it is to resign all its parliamentary seats, in a bitter row with the government over alleged poll rigging.

Former cricket star Khan claims last year’s general election, in which his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party came third, was rigged and has demanded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resign and hold new polls.

The dramatic twist came as the government tried to launch formal talks with Khan and populist cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, who is leading a parallel protest, also calling for new elections.

Khan and Qadri led thousands of supporters on a “long march” to the capital from the eastern city of Lahore, hoping to mobilise a mass movement to oust Sharif.

But Khan’s protest failed to attract the vast crowds he had promised and other opposition parties yesterday shunned his call for a campaign of civil disobedience, leaving him looking increasingly isolated.

PTI vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced the shock mass resignation yesterday afternoon.

“We are resigning from the National Assembly, Punjab Assembly, Baluchistan Assembly and Sindh Assembly,” Qureshi told reporters.

He said the party was still making a decision about what to do in northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, where they are in power.

The MPs’ resignations must be submitted to the national assembly speaker and passed on to the election commission.

Qureshi did not say when this would happen.

PTI scored their best ever performance in last year’s election, which Sharif won in a landslide victory and was rated as free and credible by international observers.

They won 27 seats - which will now go to by-elections - and were awarded seven more through Pakistan’s quota system for getting women and religious minorities into parliament.

The authorities deployed tens of thousands of security personnel on Islamabad’s streets and blocked main roads to contain the protests, but by yesterday their numbers had ebbed and life was returning to normal.

Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) has accused Khan of trying to derail Pakistan’s perennially fragile democratic system.

PML-N lawmaker and spokeswoman Marvi Memon said the government was not concerned by Khan’s “ludicrous” civil disobedience appeal.

The nuclear-armed country has experienced three military coups and the latest crisis has triggered more speculation about possible intervention by the powerful armed forces.

But sources said back-channel talks to resolve the row were under way yesterday and the government said it would soon announce cross-party committees to hold formal talks with PTI and Qadri.

Memon said the government wanted a negotiated end to the standoff but there was no question of Sharif resigning.

Last week the prime minister proposed a judicial commission to investigate election fraud allegations, but Khan immediately rejected the offer.

Qadri rejected the idea of talks with the government and said his deadline of midnight (1900 GMT) for the arrest of Sharif - over what he alleges was the murder of his supporters - still stood.

The cleric has said he will not be responsible for any repercussions if his various demands are not met.

Ten workers from Qadri’s Pakistan Awami Tehreek movement were killed in clashes with police at his headquarters in Lahore on June 17. A judicial commission was formed to investigate.

 

Imran left isolated in civil disobedience call

Pakistan’s opposition parties yesterday distanced themselves from Imran Khan’s call for mass civil disobedience to unseat the government, as talks began to try to end a destabilising five-day political standoff.

On Sunday night, Khan appealed to the people to stop paying utility bills and taxes to the current government, accusing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of plundering the national wealth to enrich his business empire.

Khan and populist cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, who led his own “long march” from Lahore, claim the May 2013 general election which Sharif won in a landslide was rigged.  They had promised to mobilise hundreds of thousands of supporters to capitalise on popular dissatisfaction with the corruption, power cuts and insecurity that blight daily life in Pakistan and oust the government.

But Khan was left looking increasingly isolated yesterday as mass support failed to materialise and other opposition parties refused to rally to his call.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party which is the largest opposition party - said Khan’s willingness to use “unconstitutional means” to pursue his goals threatened democracy.

“Democracy and nation will not be served by calls for civil disobedience nor by a stubborn refusal by any side to engage in a meaningful dialogue on political issues,” Zardari said in a statement.

Sirajul Haq, head of the religious political party Jamaat-e-Islami, who has played a key mediating role since the two protest marches began on Thursday, urged a negotiated end to the standoff.

“We are against any move which can derail democracy. We want to resolve all the matters within the framework of law and constitution,” he told AFP.

International observers rated the general election, in which Khan’s PTI came third in its best ever performance, as free and credible.  Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N has accused Khan of trying to derail Pakistan’s perennially fragile democratic system.