Amid fears of violence and army intervention in the coup-prone nation, a cornered Nawaz Sharif today turned to Parliament for support with his government slamming the protests as a "mutiny against Pakistan".
Leaders from across the political spectrum backed Sharif at an emergency joint session of the Parliament convened to support the Prime Minister and discuss the current impasse.
Most of the leaders expressed their resolute support for Sharif in the wake of anti-government protests headed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT).
"This Parliament should remove the misconception that this is a democratic process. This is not a protest, not a dharna or a political gathering. This is mutiny against Pakistan," Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar told Parliament.
"They reached the gates of the Supreme Court, of Parliament... yesterday they entered another state building and chanted slogans of 'Tahir-ul-Qadri Zindabad'," he said, referring to the storming of the PTV Islamabad office.
Nisar said the protesters were armed and had support of up to 1,500 trained militants of an extremist organisation which he did not name.
Dubbing the protesters as "intruders", he urged the Parliament to declare their actions as a mutiny against the state and asked lawmakers to "guide" the government in dealing with them.
The Supreme Court, while hearing a set of petitions against sit-ins of Khan and Qadri, today issued notices to all parliamentary parties as well as to PAT to resolve the ongoing political impasse within the parameters of the Constitution.
The four-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Nasir-ul Mulk issued notices after petitioner Zulfiqar Naqvi pleaded that all parties be summoned so the deadlock can be resolved.
The developments came after late last night, the state-run PTV quoted Prime Minister Sharif as saying that neither he will resign, nor will he go on leave.
According to a joint statement issued after the opposition parties' meeting at the Prime Minister's House yesterday, the premier said he would not let people's mandate be hijacked by intimidation.
Sharif, who enjoys a solid majority in the chamber and was present during today's sitting, got much-needed support from different political parties during the debate in the Parliament with Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Aitizaz Ahsan saying the Premier should not resign under pressure.
However, he criticised the government for failure to address the problems of the people.
Other lawmakers also pledged support to the government and said force should be used to evict the people camping on the lawns of the Parliament building.
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