... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
This, combined with a mysterious ISPR statement issued after midnight that called on all stakeholders to exercise "patience, wisdom and sagacity in the larger national interest", seems to have put the prime minister in a tough spot.
Tuesday was a tense day in the capital as both the government and the demonstrators of the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is
Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
and the Pakistain Awami Tehrik looked all set for a showdown. Indeed, all the posturing and media coverage ahead of the promised surge towards the red zone indicated there would be blood.
Earlier in the day, the interior minister issued an ominous warning to both parties' leaders, saying that the government would stop at nothing to protect institutions of the state and the international community holed up in the diplomatic enclave.
On the other side, both Imran Khan
... aka
Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems...
and Tahirul Qadri
...Pak politician, and would-be dictator, founder and head of Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran and Pakistain Awami Tehrik. He usually resides in Canada, but returns to Pakistain periodically to foam at the mouth and lead demonstrations. Depending on which way the wind's blowing, Qadri claims to be the author of Pak's blasphemy law. Other times he says it wasn't him...
promised their supporters that victory was at hand. Mr Khan announced that demonstrators would sit-in outside parliament until the prime minister resigned. Dr Qadri, who held a 'people's parliament' at Aabpara roundabout earlier in the day, promised his followers that accountability would be ensured for the "corrupt" rulers.