ISLAMABAD: Leaders of Pakistani protests demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s resignation are making progress in talks with the government, officials said on Monday, trying to find a solution to a crisis that has destabilised the coup-prone nation.

Anti-government protests turned deadly last month, with thousands trying to storm Sharif’s house in an outburst of violence which has prompted fears that the army might intervene and even topple Sharif. After weeks of deadlock, protest leaders Imran Khan, a former cricket star, and Tahirul Qadri, a firebrand cleric, are now in talks with government officials.

Negotiations, which went on through the weekend, revolve around six demands that Khan has made, including that the prime minister step down, fresh elections be held and electoral reforms carried out.

“We are going clause by clause, line by line, on all points,” said lawmaker Asad Umar from Khan’s party, minutes before he went into talks with the government team.

“Initially, we had differences on almost all points but in the last three days, we have been making progress and issues are being resolved. We think that the government is finally serious about this.”

Qadri and Khan have taken an inflexible stand on their demand that Sharif quit, and it was unclear what kind of solution would suit all the parties since the prime minister has categorically refused to step down.

Umar said the two sides had decided to chalk out five demands before discussing Sharif’s resignation. “Both sides have an irreconcilable position on Nawaz’s resignation,” he said. “So the negotiating teams are talking about all the other demands first and this demand that Sharif resign is something that Imran and Nawaz may have to figure out one on one.”

Islamabad however is full of speculation that the opposition might drop their demand for his resignation and agree to end their anti-government campaign.