Pakistan PM rejects resignation calls

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has remained defiant in the face of calls for him to relinquish power despite a massive march on his house by outraged anti-government protesters.

Late on Saturday, Pakistani security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse thousands of protesters who were trying to march on Sharif’s home after another round of talks between the Islamabad government and opposition failed to bear result.
Reports say dozens of protesters were injured in the attack by security guards. Pakistani media put the number of participants in the Saturday march at around 25,000.

Earlier in the day, the Pakistani premier downplayed the political unrest in the country as “a tiny storm,” saying he would not give into calls for him to step down.

“This is just a tiny storm, a tumult, which would be ended in a few days,” said the Pakistani leader in reference to the ongoing anti-government demonstrations in the country.

Pakistani opposition leader Imran Khan, who heads the Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party, and cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, the head of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), have been leading daily protest rallies in the capital Islamabad since August 14.

The two opposition figures have pledged to remain peaceful and called on Pakistani security forces not to use force against the demonstrators.

Khan and Qadri say the country’s May 2013 general election, which was won by Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) party, was fraudulent. They also want an overhaul of the country’s electoral system to make it fair.

Sharif has ordered the Supreme Court to set up an investigative team to look into the elections.

MKA/NN/AS