Summary The important decision was taken in a meeting between PM and COAS on Sunday.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The country was saved from a major disaster after Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Army Chief decided to resolve Faizabad sit-in issue peacefully.
The important decision was taken in a meeting between PM and COAS in Islamabad on Sunday where DG ISI was also present.
Earlier on Monday, Tehreek-e-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYRA) leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi called off the sit-in after Law Minister Zahid Hamid’s resignation. Rizvi said he has been assured that the demands of his Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah Pakistan (TLY) group would be met.
READ: TLYRA leaders announce to end 22-day long protest in Islamabad
"We are calling off the sit-in," he told a crowd of around 2,500 demonstrators, adding that his group was abandoning plans to issue a fatwa against Hamid and was calling for roads and schools to be reopened.
Rizvi’s group has been calling for weeks for Hamid’s ousting over a hastily-abandoned amendment to the oath which election candidates must swear. Protestors occupied a main highway into Islamabad since November 6 and virtually paralysed the capital.
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The announcement came after Saturday’s botched operation to disperse the demonstrators sparked violence in Islamabad that left at least seven people dead and hundreds wounded.
It fuelled the spread of the protests and blockades to major cities across the country including Karachi and Lahore.
The government ordered police and paramilitaries to stand down after the clashes and called on the army to intervene to restore order.
READ: Shouldn’t use force against fellow Pakistanis, COAS recommends PM to not deploy army
As he called off the sit-in, Rizvi referred to what he said was the text of an army-brokered agreement between TLY and the government.
"We all now need to heal the fault lines that dharna (sit-in) has invoked on religious & sectarian basis & ensure it doesn’t reoccur. It is a priority," tweeted Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, without further details.
