Mounting further pressure, 34 Opposition lawmakers resigned from the National Assembly on Friday to force the Nawaz Sharif Government to quit but their party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf surprisingly decided to resume talks after the failed first round.
For the second time since it mobilised thousands of supporters for anti-government protests in Islamabad demanding Sharif’s resignation, the core committee of Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) met and discussed the current crisis.
The meeting took place after senior leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi handed over the resignations, including that of Khan, to Secretary of the National Assembly Muhammad Riaz, mounting more pressure on the beleaguered Government.
The resignations do not affect the stability of the Government which enjoys a majority with ruling PMl-N having 190 members in a House of 342. Khan’s PTI is the third largest party in the National Assembly. Following the core committee meeting, Qureshi told reporters that “PTI is ready for talks.” After one round of talks on Wednesday both Khan’s PTI and cleric Tahirul Qadri-led Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) had suspended dialogue with the Govt. Meanwhile , Imran Khan and cleric Tahirul Qadri, who are leading two anti-government protests in Pakistan, on Friday assured the Supreme Court that they will remain within the limits of the Constitution during their ongoing agitations.