BAHAWALPUR: Terming the May 11 agitation call uncalled for, Nawaz Sharif extended an invitation on Friday to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan for a dialogue at the Prime Minister’s House.

“Neither-play-nor-let-others-play strategy won’t work. You have been a sportsman and show the same spirit now,” the prime minister said without naming the PTI chief.

He was addressing a gathering at the Baghdadul Jadid campus of Islamia University after unveiling the plaque of the Quaid-i-Azam Solar Park at Noorsar, about 18km from here.

Mr Sharif recalled that he himself had gone to the residence (of Imran Khan) in Islamabad to discuss issues. And now if he has any issue, he should come to the Prime Minister House. And that is why, Mr Sharif added, he was extending an invitation to Imran Khan over a cup of tea or coffee.

The prime minister rejected the election rigging charges and said he could not understand the motive behind this protest.

“What is the need of this protest right now?” he wondered and asked the gathering: “Are they against the progress of Pakistan; are they against the development projects; are they against the measures taken to end corruption and power outages?”

He said he was confident the government would be able to overcome the power crisis. Earlier, the premier performed the ground-breaking of a Rs15bn solar power park which will produce 1,000MW.