By Aamir Latif
ISLAMABAD
After more than a week of protests in Pakistan, anti-government figurehead Imran Khan has withdrawn his demand for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign.
Khan has instead called on Sharif to go on leave while allegations of vote rigging in last year's general elections are investigated.
The change in stance is seen as a major de-escalation in the conflict and follows a series of belligerent speeches made by Khan on Thursday, when he announced the suspensions of negotiations with the government and warned the police not to clear the protest site.
Thousands of supporters from Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party have been staging a sit-in outside parliament since Tuesday.
“There is a provision in the constitution under which the prime minister may go on leave so that he could not influence the verification of rigging charges," senior party figure Naeem-ul-Haq told reporters. “We have discussed this issue with legal experts, and they too consider that quite possible in line with the constitution.”
Tahir-ul-Qadri, a firebrand preacher who has forged a makeshift alliance with Khan and backed the protest, has rejected the compromise.
“We still stick to our guns. The prime minister must resign first. Sending him on leave means nothing as he will appoint his hand-picked parliamentarian or minister as the new premier. What difference would that make?” said Qadri, in front of thousands of stick-wielding protesters.
Mediators from mainstream opposition parties have stepped up efforts to end the deadlock and a breakthrough is expected within a few hours, a member of Sharif's cabinet told the Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.
Khan and Qadri began their protests with a long march from northeastern city Lahore to Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, on August 14. They initially claimed they would not leave until Sharif resigned but the crowds have been shrinking because of a heatwave and lack of food, water or adequate sanitation.
The protest has brought Islamabad to a standstill but neither the political opposition nor the army have supported Khan's demands.
“He is seeking face-saving now as things are not going in his favor,” said Abdul Khalique Ali, a Karachi-based political analyst.
Ali said that Khan and Qadri's "abusive" criticism of Sharif had alienated even some of their own supporters that the party atmosphere displayed on television is a facade.
“This is just for cameras. Otherwise, they are losing their morale as the government has played its cards very wisely,” he said.
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