Pakistani PM denies asking army to mediate

Pakistan's prime minister on Friday denied asking the country's military chief to mediate with opposition leaders and protesters who have camped for two weeks outside parliament in the capital, Islamabad, demanding his resignation over alleged voting fraud. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's remarks to the National Assembly indicated that talks with the opposition — with or without army Chief Gen. Raheel Sharif's mediation — were unlikely to produce a breakthrough in the crisis. They also threw into question earlier reports that said the government had requested the powerful military's mediation in the standoff with protesters led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and fiery cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, according to AP.