PM, army chief to resolve ongoing crisis 'expeditiously'
The meeting took place at the PM House
ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE:
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met the army chief on Tuesday, a source in his administration said, as a political deadlock over mass protests for the government's resignation showed no signs of resolution.
"The meeting took place at the Prime Minister's House," said the administration source, who asked not to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Sharif and army chief General Raheel Sharif discussed the political situation and other matters, the source added.
Meanwhile, a statement issued by the PM House said: “There was a consensus on the need to resolve the ongoing issue expeditiously in the best national interest.”
No other details were immediately available. The army could not be reached for comment.
Protesters led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and PAT chief Tahirul Qadri have vowed to occupy the capital, Islamabad, until Sharif resigns - a demand the premier has rejected.
Thousands of Khan and Qadri supporters are now camped out in the heart of Islamabad - the so-called "Red zone" - but the gathering is peaceful and security forces protecting the key installations have not used force to disperse them.
Sharif has a difficult relationship with the army: his last term in office ended in 1999 when then army chief General Pervez Musharraf launched a coup to usher in a decade of military rule.
Relations with the military soured further when Sharif's government prosecuted Musharraf last year for treason, angering officers who see the army as Pakistan's saviour and despise politicians as corrupt and inefficient.
Government officials and protest leaders have been in sporadic talks since last week to find a peaceful way out of the crisis but Khan has refused to back down unless Sharif quits.
Qadri, for his part, has given the government another deadline to quit by the middle of this week, saying otherwise circumstances might be "uncontrollable".
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met the army chief on Tuesday, a source in his administration said, as a political deadlock over mass protests for the government's resignation showed no signs of resolution.
"The meeting took place at the Prime Minister's House," said the administration source, who asked not to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Sharif and army chief General Raheel Sharif discussed the political situation and other matters, the source added.
Meanwhile, a statement issued by the PM House said: “There was a consensus on the need to resolve the ongoing issue expeditiously in the best national interest.”
No other details were immediately available. The army could not be reached for comment.
Protesters led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and PAT chief Tahirul Qadri have vowed to occupy the capital, Islamabad, until Sharif resigns - a demand the premier has rejected.
Thousands of Khan and Qadri supporters are now camped out in the heart of Islamabad - the so-called "Red zone" - but the gathering is peaceful and security forces protecting the key installations have not used force to disperse them.
Sharif has a difficult relationship with the army: his last term in office ended in 1999 when then army chief General Pervez Musharraf launched a coup to usher in a decade of military rule.
Relations with the military soured further when Sharif's government prosecuted Musharraf last year for treason, angering officers who see the army as Pakistan's saviour and despise politicians as corrupt and inefficient.
Government officials and protest leaders have been in sporadic talks since last week to find a peaceful way out of the crisis but Khan has refused to back down unless Sharif quits.
Qadri, for his part, has given the government another deadline to quit by the middle of this week, saying otherwise circumstances might be "uncontrollable".