Pakistan\u2019s federal law minister stepped down early Monday, hoping to end a three-week long siege of the capital Islamabad, a prime ministry official confirmed to Anadolu Agency.
\nZahid Hamid has been under immense pressure after religious and political parties held him responsible for changes to an election law on the Prophet Mohammad, changes reversed earlier this month amid nationwide protests.
\n“I have resigned voluntarily to pull the country out of the crisis,” he was quoted as saying by local media.<\/p>\n
Religious groups accused the ruling Pakistani Muslim League (Nawaz) party, and Hamid in particular, of deliberately modifying the clause to favor a minority sect, and demanded his resignation.
\nThe government blamed the changes on a \u201cclerical error.\u201d
\nUnder the restored clause, voters registering for general elections must declare that they believe Mohammad was the final prophet, or their names will be put on a separate list for Ahmedis\/Qadianis — a minority sect parliament declared non-Muslim in 1974.
\nFollowing police action on Saturday which killed seven people and injured hundreds, Khadim Hussein Rizvi, a protest leader, demanded the resignation of the entire cabinet, including Hamid.<\/p>\n
Protesters pack up<\/strong> Media blockade ends<\/strong> Pakistan\u2019s federal law minister stepped down early Monday, hoping to end a three-week long siege of the capital Islamabad, a prime ministry official confirmed to Anadolu Agency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c59-islamic-world"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nFollowing the resignation of the law minister, footage aired on local Geo TV showed protesters packing up and preparing to leave the venue after the three-week sit-in. However, the protest leaders are expected to formally announce the end of the siege at a press conference soon.
\nAccording to the agreement, Geo TV reported, the government will make a report to a Senate committee in a month to expose and act against the controversial amendment. Also, an investigation committee will be formed to look into the circumstances that led to violence, loss of lives and property.
\nHundreds of protesters arrested from Islamabad and rest of the country will also be released.
\nThe protest leaders, according to the agreement, will not issue any religious decree against the law minister.
\nThe much-anticipated development came after the government Sunday assigned paramilitary rangers to \u201chandle\u201d the protesters after the country\u2019s powerful army chief advised it not to deploy soldiers, according to the Interior Ministry.
\nThe ministry, through a notification, appointed Maj. Gen. Azhar Naveed Hayat, head of the rangers in the northeastern Punjab province, to lead the operation to \u201chandle\u201d and \u201cclear\u201d the sit-in, which has virtually cut off the capital from rest of the country since early November.
\nQuoting unnamed government officials, local Dunya TV reported that the rangers head had been assigned the task to \u201cnegotiate\u201d with the protesters, and clear the sit-in organized by Tehrik Labbaik Ya Rasoolallah (Movement to serve Prophet of Allah) — a newly formed group which represents the Sunni-Barelvi school of thought.<\/p>\n
\nViolent protests and clashes, which saw the torching of vehicles and property, led the government to call in the army to secure the capital on Saturday.
\nOn Sunday, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi chaired meetings with top government officials, including the army chief, to review the aftermath of the Saturday crackdown.
\nMost participants, who included cabinet members, reportedly advised the premier to avoid the use of force as it could trigger more violence.
\nDuring the meeting, army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa advised Abbasi to avoid the use of force and to restore news channels, an army official told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity, due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
\nMinutes after his meeting, a two-day clampdown on news channels was lifted across the country. Social media websites were also restored.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"