... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
has met with the country's army chief amid mass protests demanding the government's resignation.
Tens of thousands of people have descended on the capital Islamabad in recent days, answering the call from opposition politician Imran Khan
... aka
Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight...
and holy man Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri to push for Sharif's departure, with a large number of demonstrators camped outside parliament in the city's heavily-guarded "Red Zone".
The Pak premier's press office said on Tuesday that army chief Raheel Sharif and the prime minister discussed the protests and agreed to resolve the issue "expeditiously in the best national interest."
The two leaders have held many meetings over the standoff in recent weeks, according to a top source at army headquarters in the town of Rawalpindi.
"They are discussing solutions," said the unnamed official, adding, "This situation is very alarming for the army... What if things get violent?"
On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered protest leaders and the government to find a compromise solution so that the "Red Zone", which is home to parliament, the prime minister's home, embassies and government offices, could be cleared by the following day.
However,
alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk...
protesters defied the court's order and stayed put for the 13th day on Tuesday.
Khan and Qadri accuse the premier of corruption and insist that Pakistain's last year general elections, won by Sharif's Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N), were fraudulent.
Government officials and protest leaders have been engaged in sporadic negotiations since last week to find a peaceful solution to the crisis, but Khan has refused to back down unless Sharif quits, a demand the prime minister has firmly rejected.