An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad on Friday handed over over 30 workers of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) to the police for 14-day remand in connection with the politico-religious party’s recent protests across Punjab.
Justice Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain accepted the investigating officer’s (IO) request for 14-day remand for identification.
Read: TLP’s Saad Rizvi ‘bullet wounded’, Muridke SHO martyred
The detained suspects are accused of damaging public property and violent riots in different cities of Punjab.
Repression of the TLP
The governments of Punjab and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) launched a crackdown against the TLP, closing several party offices and seminars last week.
Before the TLP’s anti-Israel rally scheduled for October 10 in front of the US Embassy in Islamabad, police raided the party’s offices in an attempt to arrest TLP leader Saad Rizvi. Mobile data services were suspended and most of the city was blocked off using containers last Friday.
Learn more: Punjab Police ‘strikes gold’ in raid on TLP chief’s residence
The party did not obtain permission to organize the rally.
The initial raid was met with resistance from TLP workers and clashes followed along Multan Road. The situation worsened on Friday and in the following days, with TLP workers rioting in different cities of Punjab and an attempt to do the same in Karachi.
Apart from prosecutions and mass arrests, the Punjab government is pushing for a complete ban on the political party. The province has submitted its recommendation to the Center in this regard.
