Pakistan’s cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan said Saturday he would continue to lead protests in Islamabad along with thousands of his supporters until Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif steps down.

Pakistan's cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan said Saturday he would continue to lead protests in Islamabad along with thousands of his supporters until Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif steps down.

Khan says the May 2013 general election that brought Sharif to power in a landslide was rigged, and has demanded he resign and hold new polls.

Addressing a rally after leading protesters from the eastern city of Lahore, Khan said he would stage a sit-in on Saturday afternoon that would continue until Sharif leaves office.

"The time has arrived when the nation should decide. I will stay here until the prime minister resigns. We don't accept a prime minister who has been appointed after rigged elections," Khan told supporters in the early hours of Saturday after arriving in the capital.

The demonstration is the culmination of the "long march that set off Thursday from the eastern city of Lahore, around 300 kilometers (190 miles) away, to try to topple the government.

A populist cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri led thousands of his own followers alongside Khan.

Both Khan and Qadri plan to rally in Islamabad until their demands for Sharif's resignation and for electoral reforms are met.