Pakistani Army To Mediate Between Protesters, Gov't

Pakistan's powerful army has stepped in to mediate between government and opposition protesters to resolve the two-week long crisis that has crippled the capital.



"The army chief (General Raheel Sharif) has personally contacted me and requested to push back our deadline for 24 hours as the army is going to be a mediator and guarantor between us and the government," anti-government cleric Dr Tahir ul Qadri told his thousands of supporters sitting in front of the parliament house late Thursday night.



Former cricket player Imran Khan also confirmed the army's mediation. There was no reaction from the government.



On Wednesday, police in Pakistan's northeastern region of Punjab had registered a murder case against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other senior government officials for the deaths of 14 anti-government activists in June. 



The filing of the case has been one of the key demands made by Qadri, a controversial religious scholar, during two-week long anti-government protests which has seen his supporters join up with those of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan. They have been demonstrating in the capital, Islamabad, for two weeks now and demand Sharif's resignation.



Analysts see the latest development as a big blow to the legitimacy of an elected government that has been forced by the army to bow. The army has directly ruled this south Asian nuclear state for over 30 years.



"This is a complete failure of the elected parliament and the politicians as instead of the army is going to negotiate, mediate," Jasmeen Manzoor, an Islamabad-based political analyst, said. "This is not a good news for democratic forces."



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