Pakistan’s authorities reached an agreement on Monday with leaders of hardline religious group Tehreek-i-Labaik Yah Rasool Allah that has been demanding the resignation of the federal law minister.
The government said that Minister Zahid Hamid, who has been accused of blasphemy by the protesters, would step down in return for an end to the protests that have lasted for some three weeks and paralyzed the capital city of Islamabad.
Mr. Hamid would resign after negotiations reportedly overseen by the country’s military.
The agreement between the government and the hardline group has been viewed as Islamabad’s capitulation to religious extremists.