ISLAMABAD: From inside his container on D-Chowk, Imran Khan cuts a confident, if haggard figure. Days of living on the road may have taken its toll on the cricketer-turned-politician, but they don’t seem to have dented his resolve.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman insists that by proposing an in-house change, he has offered the ruling PML-N “the ultimate compromise” and believes that the ball is now squarely in Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s court.

Talking to a group of journalists at his container on Sunday, Mr Khan sounded confident that he would be able to secure the prime minister’s resignation, even if for a month.

In person, one can see the signs of exhaustion on his face: swollen eyes and dark circles — a clear sign of sleeplessness.

Qureshi says govt has agreed to all but one of party’s demands

As he spoke to half a dozen reporters from his easy-chair in the outer corridor of his container-home, Mr Khan snacked on cereal. On the table before him was a generous helping of throat lozenges, no doubt to soothe his overworked vocal chords.

Clad in his favourite black shalwar-kameez, Mr Khan seemed aggressive — ready to pounce like a cornered tiger.

Asked whether he was afraid that he would lose out on the concession the government was currently offering if he continued to ask for the PM’s resignation, Mr Khan said: “Free and fair investigations cannot take place in the presence of Nawaz Sharif because witnesses, fearing reprisals, will not be willing to testify.”

Asked what difference will a temporary PM’s installation make when the same cabinet and indeed the same party would still be in power, the PTI chief said if done, it would be a powerful message to all concerned. Everybody will learn that they cannot risk protecting the corrupt.

He also maintained that since the PM stood to gain the most from the results of last year’s general elections, it was morally incumbent upon him to stay out of the picture while the judicial commission conducted its investigation.

Mr Khan was accompanied by Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who has been leading the party’s team that is negotiating with the government. Mr Qureshi said Mr Khan, and indeed the entire party leadership, had been burning the midnight oil in trying to come up with a workable plan which would be acceptable to all concerned. “The PTI has offered the best possible deal to the government to resolve this crisis,” he said, adding that he hoped government negotiators would respond to their overtures soon.

Explaining what happened during the last round of talks between the PTI and the government on Saturday night, Mr Qureshi said both sides had agreed on everything – including an independent probe into rigging allegations as well as the replacement of controversial government officials – except the matter of the PM’s temporary resignation.

Mr Khan also boasted that the number of people at the sit-in would only increase in the days to come. In his speech to the crowd later in the evening, he recalled the allegations of rigging he levelled against former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and the Election Commission.

“(PTI) has several credible witnesses who are willing to testify before the judicial commission, but are waiting for the prime minister to step down,” he said, possibly a veiled reference to the subsequent claims by former ECP official Mohammad Afzal in an interview to Mubasher Lucman of ARY News. In the second half of the programme, Imran Khan came online and thanked Mr Afzal for making the revelations, which he said would set the record straight.

When one reporter asked him about rumours about the government’s apparent decision to replace Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to placate Dr Tahirul Qadri, Mr Khan said: “The PTI’s case is completely different. We have been raising the issue of electoral rigging for the past 14 months and consistently asking for a thorough probe.”

Asked why he was convinced Nawaz Sharif would quit when he enjoyed the support of all houses of parliament and commanded a comfortable majority of 190 MNAs in the National Assembly, the PTI chairman simply said: “Come what may, I am here to stay, and I won’t leave until the PM resigns.”

Mr Qureshi brushed aside concerns of political isolation, harking back to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s apparent isolation when he came out against all major established political players.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2014