--- description: Prime Minister Sharif has not yet addressed Parliament, but reports say he may do so before the session concludes this week title: Pakistan Parliament Unites Behind Prime Minister image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt097b2d71cea3ec6c/6986a1bd810bbb30bdc933de/454507596.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Pakistan](/tag/pakistan/) ## Pakistan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Pakistan MPs Back PM Sharif as Protest Leaders Agree to Open Dialogue by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/time-staff/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 3, 2014 9:43 AM CUT  Pakistani cricketer turned politician Imran Khan, leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, addresses his supporters during antigovernment protests near the Prime Minister's residence in Islamabad on Sept. 2, 2014 Pakistani cricketer turned politician Imran Khan, leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, addresses his supporters during antigovernment protests near the Prime Minister's residence in Islamabad on Sept. 2, 2014Mian Khursheed—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/time-staff/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 3, 2014 9:43 AM CUT Members of Pakistan’s Parliament, representing several different political parties that don’t always see eye to eye, came together to express support for embattled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a joint session convened on Tuesday. The session, which the Prime Minister’s Office reportedly said would continue until the end of the week, comes after more than two weeks of protests championed by former national cricket captain Imran Khan and firebrand cleric Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri that have convulsed the capital, Islamabad. Khan and Qadri allege that the country’s historic 2013 election was rigged, and say they will not back down until the Sharif resigns. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar called the ongoing protests a “rebellion against Pakistan,” [reports](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/02/us-pakistan-crisis-idUSKBN0GX0GP20140902 "undefined") Reuters. Senator Aitzaz Ahsan, the leader of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party, said the entire legislature was behind Sharif. The movement turned violent over the weekend as protesters clashed with police and took over a television station, prompting the army to briefly step in and restore order. Three people were killed and around 400 injured. But the nation’s capital has been peaceful since Tuesday, with both sides reaching an impasse of sorts. Local news outlet _Dawn_ [reported](http://www.dawn.com/news/1129435/pti-pat-agree-to-engage-in-dialogue "undefined") that protesters camped in the “red zone” in front of the Pakistani Secretariat building prevented government officials from entering their offices. However, the parking lot was reportedly cleared of protesters Wednesday morning in order for the joint session of Parliament to resume. Khan and members of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party also agreed to engage in an “open dialogue” with a group of opposition leaders. Earlier in the day, Qadri reiterated the demonstrators’ denial that they were taking orders from Pakistan’s powerful generals. “Anyone who says the army is behind us is wrong,” he said. Hassan Abbas, a professor at National Defense University and author of _The Taliban Revival_, says the army’s influence is blown out of proportion. “The army is sympathetic to Khan and has certainly some influence over the party, but to argue that Khan is being run by the military sounds to me as an exaggerated assessment,” he tells TIME. And while Abbas says the protesters have some legitimate demands, their methods fall “outside what is permissible under the law of the land.” Sharif has not yet addressed Parliament, but reports say he may do so before the session concludes this week. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3261233/pakistan-parliament-protests-demonstrations-nawaz-sharif-imran-khan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3261233/pakistan-parliament-protests-demonstrations-nawaz-sharif-imran-khan/"},"headline":"Pakistan MPs Back PM Sharif as Protest Leaders Agree to Open Dialogue","datePublished":"2014-09-03T09:43:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:58:43.220Z","description":"More than two weeks of sometimes bloody antigovernment protests have quelled somewhat over the past few days","url":"https://time.com/3261233/pakistan-parliament-protests-demonstrations-nawaz-sharif-imran-khan/","keywords":["Pakistan","protests","islamabad","Nawaz Sharif"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt097b2d71cea3ec6c/6986a1bd810bbb30bdc933de/454507596.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt097b2d71cea3ec6c/6986a1bd810bbb30bdc933de/454507596.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Tahir-ul-Qadri and Imran Khan attend anti-government protests in Islamabad","caption":"Tahir-ul-Qadri and Imran Khan attend anti-government protests in Islamabad","creditText":"Mian Khursheed—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/pakistan/","name":"Pakistan"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3261233/pakistan-parliament-protests-demonstrations-nawaz-sharif-imran-khan/","name":"Pakistan MPs Back PM Sharif as Protest Leaders Agree to Open Dialogue"}}]}] ```