Govt rejects demand of PM's resignation, snap polls.

ISLAMABAD -- Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak, who heads the government delegation negotiating with the joint opposition, on Saturday rejected the demands of Prime Minister Imran Khan's resignation and snap polls made by the Azadi marchers led by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman a day earlier. Addressing a press conference here alongside other members of the committee, the minister said 'resignation was out of the question' and warned the leaders of opposition parties that the government will not show 'leniency if they backtracked from the earlier agreement reached with the government'.

He also warned the opposition leaders to stick to the agreement signed with the government. He said: 'If opposition resorts to violence, any damage caused will be the sole responsibility of opposition.' On Friday, the JUI-F chief had asked the PM to resign within two days, hinting at a change in the marchers' strategy if the premier failed to go home. He had said the protesters could also arrest the PM. Reacting to the statement, he said: 'The government will approach the court against Fazl's threat of forcibly arresting the premier. It amounts to mutiny and we will be submitting our plea in court on Monday.' Khattak stressed that there was a signed agreement between the opposition and federal government and it stated that if it is not followed, action will be taken. 'They just want to create unrest,' he said. 'They will not succeed.' He also commented on the remarks made by Fazl against the state institutions regarding their 'impartiality', saying all the institutions were 'neutral'. 'Maulana sahib has criticised the state institutions more rather than the government,' he said. 'For the first time, all the state institutions are neutral.

They will act in accordance with the constitution if chaos spreads.' Criticism on national institutions by JUI-F leaders will not serve...