ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said that the majority of political parties in Parliament have given their support to his party during the current political crisis.

The prime minister made the remarks during a meeting with senior journalists in Islamabad.

“Out of the 12 political parties in Parliament, 11 have given their support to our party and the democratic process,” the PM told the journalists.

“All democratic forces are on the same page regarding this issue,” he said.

Sharif said given the regional situation, his resignation would cause great problems for democracy in the country, which Pakistan could not afford. He also said that dialogue was the only way the crisis could be resolved.

“We are showing great restraint because women and children are among the protesters,” said Sharif.

Sharif reiterated that he had become prime minister through a democratic process.

The prime minister's remarks on Thursday comes on the eighth day of the Imran Khan-led movement against his government, a campaign that has partially paralysed life in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi as containers and police personnel guard state buildings against charged protesters.

Although Imran is unflinching in his demand for the premier's resignation, PTI sources say the party chairman has "no other option left" as his earlier calls for a civil disobedience movement and the mass resignation of PTI lawmakers from assemblies have yielded no results.

Imran rallied supporters with the aim to remove Nawaz as prime minister in protest of alleged rigging in the 2013 general elections. Journalists present in D-chowk — the final destination of the PTI sit-in — say that crowds are thinning as the drawn-out protest enters its eighth day.