ISLAMABAD: After an earlier stalemate, an agreement was reached between the government and opposition negotiating teams regarding the terms and conditions of a nationwide protest scheduled to kickoff in Karachi on Sunday, Defense Minister and head of the government’s negotiation committee, Pervez Khattak, said late Saturday night.

Speaking to media in Islamabad, Khattak said the two sides had come to an agreement over a major sticking point regarding the venue of the protest once its caravan reached the capital, Islamabad, and that it had been agreed the sit-in would remain confined to a pre-decided area in an open ground.

Khattak said the opposition would not enter the capital’s ‘Red Zone’ and no roads would be blocked during the protest.

In return, the government would not stand in the protesters’ way as long as the protest remained peaceful and “neither will the participants face any difficulty in getting food delivered,” he said.

As per the terms of the deal, the responsibility of the sit-in’s internal security would lie with the protest organizers who were required to submit a written affidavit to the Islamabad administration guaranteeing that all conditions would be met, Khattak said, and added that in case the agreement was violated, relevant action in accordance with the law would be taken.

The Azadi March, led by Fazl-ur-Rehman, head of one of Pakistan’s largest religious parties, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), is backed by the country’s two largest opposition parties, citing rigged elections. The protesters are calling for fresh polls in the country and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The protest, which is scheduled to reach the capital on Oct. 31, raises the prospect of political turmoil as the government struggles to stabilize the economy.