Pak Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif appointed as mediator to defuse political crisis

Pakistan Government on 29 August 2014 appointed Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif's as mediator to defuse political crisis.

The decision to seek Army chief General Raheel Sharif's help was taken after both Imran Khan, chief of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Tahir-ul-Qadri, the chief of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) refused to budge from their demand asking Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to quit.

The political crisis in Pakistan

The political crisis in Pakistan emerged after the former additional secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Afzal Khan claimed that the general election in which Nawaz Sharif won by a landslide was rigged. The political deadlock has paralysed the country for two weeks. The capital Islamabad has witnessed anti-government protests.

Although Pakistan's military had earlier chosen to stay away from this political crisis. But with the direct involvement of the army chief now, there are fears that military could use this opportunity to assert its influence over a democratically-elected civilian government.

A number of politicians and analysts have questioned the wisdom of the government's decision to ask the military for help.