Pakistan’s Law Minister Zahid Hamid has resigned after rising calls for his resignation by Islamist protesters during a three-week protest in Islamabad, Associated Press reported.
This latest development comes after the last round of talks with rally organizers ended in a stalemate.
On Sunday, security forces kept their distance and left protesters to demonstrate after six were killed in Saturday’s crackdown.
AP reported that Hamid's resignation will likely pave the way for supporters of the Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah party, which is behind the protest, to peacefully disband their sit-in at a key intersection on the edge of the Pakistani capital.
The demonstrators have repeatedly called for Hamid's resignation over an omitted reference to Islam's Prophet Mohammad in a parliamentary bill.
He had earlier apologized for the omission in the bill, saying it was a clerical error that was later corrected.