Pakistani Islamist group to call off protests in capital after government deal

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani Islamist group whose supporters clashed with the police over the weekend is to call off its weeks-long protest after the government agreed to its demands and the law minister resigned, its spokesman said on Monday.

"Our main demand has been accepted," Ejaz Ashrafi, spokesman of the Tahreek-e-Labaik group, told Reuters. "Government will announce the law minister’s resignation and we will end our sit-in today."

Law minister Zahid Hamid has resigned, state-run news channel PTV said on Monday. The Islamist group had blocked the entrance to Islamabad, the capital, for several days before police on Saturday failed in a bid to disperse the protesters, setting off demonstrations in other major cities.