Imran Khan, Qadri step up protests, tell Pak PM to quit at once

The anti-government protests in the heart of Pakistan's capital showed no sign of ending almost two weeks after they began, and in fact intensified, with cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri on Monday giving a fresh 48-hour ultimatum to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to step down.

The protests got fresh momentum after a former top Pakistan Election Commission official backed protesters' allegations of rigging in last year's polls.

Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, whose Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party is spearheading the protest alongside the cleric, also reiterated that the government must step down.

Buoyed by former additional secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Afzal Khan's claim that the general election in which Sharif won by a landslide was rigged, protesters headed by Qadri and Khan stepped up their campaign against the government.

"I ask the members of National Assembly to leave the house before my deadline expires," Qadri said addressing his supporters outside parliament. "All the credit for this struggle goes to the people."

Qadri blamed the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz for letting the situation escalate. Qadri said on the twelfth day of the protest, it was now transforming into a "revolution".

The PAT chief alleged that the procedure followed to select the election setup and the way the polls were held, assemblies were formed, was in clear violation of the Constitution. "We consider the government unconstitutional from the very first day," Qadri said.

Qadri gave the 48-hour deadline to the government, asking it to dissolve the assemblies, let the FIR of Model Town incident in which 14 of his supporters were killed be registered and release a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report.

He also demanded that Prime Minister Sharif and his brother Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif be arrested.