PAKISTAN opposition leader Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party (PTI) quit the national assembly toay and vowed to intensify anti-government protests against the administration of Nawaz Sharif.

“We are resigning from the National Assembly, Punjab Assembly, Baluchistan Assembly and Sindh Assembly,” said party vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

The party is Pakistan’s third-largest, having won 34 directly elected parliamentary seats in last year’s elections.

Mr Qureshi said the PTI was still making a decision about what to do in north-western Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, where it holds power.

Mr Khan has rallied thousands of supporters in Islamabad in recent days, demanding the government steps down and holds fresh elections and alleging fraud in last year’s general election.

But the protest failed to attract the million people Mr Khan had promised, or even a respectable percentage of them, and with other opposition parties distancing themselves from his Sunday call for a campaign of civil disobedience he now looks isolated and left with few options.

The government had offered talks following a call from Mr Khan on Sunday for his supporters not to pay taxes or utility bills.

But Mr Khan and cleric Tahir ul-Qadri, who leads the other big demonstration now taking place in Islamabad, either ignored or rejected the offer from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Mr Khan’s representatives did not respond to calls seeking comment on the government’s offer.

And Mr Qadri rejected it out of hand, calling on his followers to stage more sit-ins in other cities.

So far, the protest turnout has been far below what either Mr Khan or Mr Qadri had hoped for and predicted.

Tens of thousands, not millions, have occupied two streets in Islamabad, with police estimates for their combined numbers being around 55,000.

The government is setting up committees to negotiate with the protest leaders, ruling party MP Marvi Memon said yesterday.

She laughed off suggestions that the negotiations might not be accepted eventually.

“I don’t believe they will reject negotiation, because they would also like some kind of face-saving,” she said.