Imran Khan, Pakistan chief opposition leader, has sought his supporters to rally behind him and marched on a heavily fortified area of the capital on Tuesday. This call came following the opposition party's announcement that it would vacate all seats from the parliament as a protest to pressure the government to conduct a new national election.
Khan alleges that the 2013 general election was rigged and that the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the alleged culprit behind election rigging, must step down.
Khan's political party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party came third in last year's election.
The mass resignation of opposition leaders came amid the government's effort to negotiate talks with Khan and cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, also an opposition leader.
Tahi-ul-Qadri spearheaded a parallel demonstration, which sought the public's continuous support until a "peaceful revolution" is achieved, the BBC News reported.
Qadri, a known anti-government cleric, is said to have connections with Pakistan's armed forces.
In the BBC report, however, Qadri denied the allegation saying he has "never been in contact with the military establishment."
Both supporters of Khan and Qadri's opposition parties are dismayed over Pakistan's slow economic growth. They are also alarmed with the growing unrest and militancy as well as over the government's failure to maintain basic needs such as a steady electricity supply, according to BBC.
Other opposition groups, meanwhile, are critical to Khan's call for people to "stop paying tax" as a form of protest.
Asiz Ali Zardari, Pakistan's former president and current co-chairman of Pakistan People's Party, noted that such pronouncement is considered as "unconstitutional" and would not be effective.
Pakistan People's Party is currently the largest opposition party.
Democracy, Zardari said in a statement, "will not be served by calls for civil disobedience or by a stubborn refusal from any side to engage in a meaningful dialogue."
