World Bulletin/News Desk

Pakistan's firebrand cleric, Tahir ul Qadri, ended his 66-day long sit-in outside Parliament in the capital, Islamabad, on Tuesday evening.

Qadri, head of the Pakistan Awami Tehrik party, told his 500 supporters to pack up and go home as their "struggle has succeeded."

The controversial cleric set off his long march on Islamabad from the northeastern city of Lahore on August 15.

He teamed up with cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan in Islamabad the next day to press Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to stand down for alleged electoral fraud in last year's general elections. 

The two politicians, however, could not achieve their goal as Sharif, who enjoys the support of the main opposition parties, refused to step down.

Khan, however, is still sticking to his sit-in, saying that he will not leave the capital until Sharif resigns.

"We are not abandoning our struggle for revolution. Rather, we are going to extend our struggle throughout the country," Qadri told his supporters. "Now, there will be sit-ins in all districts twice a week," he added.

Qadri's party does not have any elected representatives, while Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party has 34 seats in the 342-member Parliament.