Pakistani Justice Minister resigns

The Pakistani government and religious leaders have reached an agreement to end the 22-day sit-in in the capital, Islamabad, and Pakistani Justice Minister Zahid Hamid resigned to defuse the crisis.  The sit-in caused problems for residents of the capital and clashes between protesters and security forces in various areas of Pakistan, leaving dead and wounded and material losses. Following the agreement, orders were issued to remove roadblocks in the Pakistani capital and to open all main roads that were closed by demonstrations in several parts of the country. The agreement came after the government's response to the most prominent demands of the protesters, the most important of which is the resignation of Justice Minister Hamid from his post, the government's approval of the release of detainees during the sit-in and confrontations between security forces and protesters, the withdrawal of all cases recorded against protesters and their leaders, and the investigation of the amendment of the election law, The facts of the campaign launched by the security forces on the demonstrators last Saturday, the announcement of the results of the investigations within 30 days, and hold those responsible accountable. After consultations with the leaders of the sit-in, Khaddam Hossein Radavi, leader of the "Lobek O Messenger of Allah" movement leading the protests, called on hundreds of protesters to end the sit-in.He called on all his supporters in Pakistan to end their protests and return safely to their homes. He added that the protestors would leave the sit-in within 12 hours of the government's implementation of the terms of the agreement. Pakistan deployed army troops in Islamabad on Sunday to help restore law and order to the capital, officials said, a day after violent clashes between the police and supporters of an Islamic cleric left at least six people dead and 200 others injured. The move came after the prime minister and army officials held emergency talks and agreed to send troops to protect vital areas and buildings like Parliament, the prime minister’s residence and the diplomatic enclave that houses embassies. The military informed the governing party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, that it would rule out the use of lethal force to quell the protest, according to the terms of the deployment in a letter that was shared with The New York Times and circulated by the local news media. A military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, said the army chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, had urged Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi “to handle the protest peacefully, avoiding violence from both sides as it is not in the national interest.” A military official confirmed on Sunday: “The army will remain at the backstage. We will not use force against the protesters. We will just protect important government installations.” The official insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media about the protest, which has presented a potentially major crisis for the governing party. The protests erupted over two weeks ago, when the cleric, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, accused the nation’s law minister, Zahid Hamid, of committing blasphemy after the governing party proposed a new version of an oath for lawmakers that dealt with a declaration of Prophet Muhammad as God’s final prophet