...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...
and 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....
Chairman Imran Khan
... aka
Taliban Khan, who ain't the brightest knife in the national drawer...
announced that Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif has been appointed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... 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...
as a 'mediator' and 'guarantor' for bringing the current crisis between the government and protesters to an end.
Speaking to their supporters late Thursday night, Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan said they have given the prime minister 24 hours upon General Sharif's assurances.
Both Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri have been in contact with the Army Chief and he is likely to mediate and steer all parties out of this deadlock, military sources said.
A meeting between General Raheel Sharif, Imran and Tahirul Qadri was confirmed by Director General ISPR Asim Bajwa.
Both the PTI chairman and the PAT chief urged their supporters to stay in the federal capital for one more day and wait until the deadline ends in order to plan a future course of action after these latest developments.
Speaking on a private TV channel, Muttahida Qaumi Movement
...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead...
(MQM) chief Altaf Hussain welcomed the mediation by Army Chief General Sharif, saying imminent damage to Pakistain had been averted.
Army involvement
The announcement of General Raheel Sharif's direct involvement in bringing the current political crisis to an end lends weight to widespread speculation that the military establishment had a hand to play in the events that unfolded in the capital over the last two weeks.
Multiple meetings between the COAS, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, and Nawaz himself had been held over the last few days, in which the prime minister and army chief agreed to immediately resolve the political cul-de-sac.