Islamabad, May 24 (IANS): Slamming former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan over his planned long march to Islamabad on Wednesday, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif said that the people of the country cannot be left at the "mercy of a group of miscreants".

"The people cannot be left at the mercy of a group of miscreants who have already brought unimaginable poverty, inflation, and unemployment on them," Sharif said in a tweet after attending a PML-N meet virtually.

The meet, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was held in Lahore with Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah also in attendance, Geo News reported.

Nawaz, who was elected as the country's Prime Minister three times, said that the country "cannot reach its true destination without countering these elements".

"We have to stop these miscreants as a nation," he stated.

In the meeting, the PML-N supremo approved the party's unanimous decision to not leave the government immediately.

According to sources, the two Sharif brothers also discussed the ongoing talks between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistan.

Sources privy to the meeting also stated that Nawaz Sharif directed the government to formulate its plan for dealing with PTI's long march and share the plan with the PML-N's coalition partners, Geo News reported.

They added that the meeting discussed the political, economic and, constitutional problems.

In the meeting, the PML-N supremo directed Shehbaz to work on the federal budget and provide all kinds of relief to the people.

On the other hand, Shehbaz directed the interior minister to ensure law and order in Islamabad is not disturbed by the long march.

The PML-N also decided that it will not accept any "unconstitutional demands" of Khan.