Imran Khan extends protests by two weeks

Talks with government are said to have entered ‘meaningful phase’

The political stalemate in Pakistan continued on Monday with Imran Khan sticking to his demand of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s resignation, even as talks between the government and protesters entered a “meaningful” phase.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chief Khan, while addressing his supporters outside Parliament, said he will not go back without forcing Premier Sharif to resign and asked his party leaders to bring more people to the sit-in.

Mr. Khan asked his supporters to continue the sit-in for another two weeks.

Cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) is also camping close to Mr. Khan’s camp. His supporters have vacated the parking lot of the Parliament and are now sitting near the Constitution Avenue.

Another round of talks between the government and PTI was held in the capital on Sunday night.

While both sides claimed that “progress had been made,” they admitted that there were still certain “core issues” that needed to be resolved.

After the overnight talks, PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi declared that “meaningful dialogue has begun” and that both sides were making “serious efforts to rescue the nation from the prevailing impasse.”

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who led the government panel, told reporters that the two sides would meet again to sort out remaining issues. Mr. Khan accused several politicians of being beneficiaries of rigging in last year’s general election.

Mr. Khan’s call for extending the protest for two weeks has come at a time when he is already facing criticism for continuing the protest even as the country has been hit by the worst floods in its history.

He has also said the PTI leadership will approach the Supreme Court to get Prime Minister Sharif disqualified for lying on the floor of the National Assembly regarding the leadership of the PTI, PAT and the army.