A religious group has called off the third day of planned protests, saying that the government had agreed to their demand for a boycott of French products, the group’s spokesman said.
Up to 5,000 protesters on Sunday had attempted to reach the capital Islamabad from the nearby city of Rawalpindi, but authorities blocked their path with shipping containers.
Telephone services were restored late on Monday after being suspended in both Islamabad and Rawalpindi for two days, a common tactic used by authorities to prevent communication between protesters and leaders.
Hundreds of protesters remained at the roadblock throughout Monday and into yesterday morning.
Thousands of supporters had clashed with police on the edge of the capital, Islamabad, on Monday in protests over recent incidents in France.
“We are calling off our protests after the government signed an agreement that it will officially endorse boycotting French products,” Ejaz Ashrafi, a spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP), told Reuters by telephone.
The government spokesman was not immediately available for comment on the agreement, which, according to a copy provided by the TLP and seen by Reuters, was signed by two ministers, a top official, and the group’s leaders.
The French embassy in Islamabad declined to comment and Pakistan’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
The protests erupted after French President Emmanuel Macron defended France’s freedom of speech laws, in the wake of the killing of a teacher.
The agreement between the TLP and the government also stipulated that the Pakistan parliament would decide within three months on whether to expel the French ambassador.
Also, all detained protesters and their leaders would be set free immediately, the spokesman said, shortly after he was released.
The TLP had blocked one of the main roads into the capital, demanding that the government sever diplomatic ties with France and expel its ambassador.
Pakistan’s trade with France was valued at nearly $800mn in the last financial year, according to central bank data, with $422mn worth of exports and imports valued at $356mn.
A senior government official who asked not to be named told AFP that the “government has no intention of cutting diplomatic ties with any country”.
He added that the situation had been “handled accordingly” to ensure the protesters left peacefully.
The TLP called off a similar protest in 2017, in which one police officer and six protesters were killed, after the government agreed to its demands, which included the resignation of the law minister.
Adam Weinstein, a fellow at the Quincy Institute think-tank said it is unlikely the government would move to cut ties with France, but that the episode had shown the TLP’s “growing power to mobilise without warning”.

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