Azma Bukhari reveals assets worth Rs23.40 billion frozen, along with 92 bank accounts
LAHORE:
The noose tightened further around the TLP after police arrested 90 of its suspected financiers, raising legal questions about how – and under what law – police applied the ban law retrospectively.
Moreover, TLP workers, along with many ordinary citizens, have been detained and arrested since Monday to prevent any gatherings on the death anniversary of the late Khadim Husain Rizvi.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Information Minister Azma Bukhari revealed that assets worth Rs23.40 billion had been frozen, along with 92 bank accounts.
She said 90 financiers involved in funding the banned group were booked, while 31 more FIRs were registered for spreading hate speech and incitement on social media platforms.
The TLP was declared a banned organization in the last week of October. The registration of FIRs against those who funded the organization before this ban raises serious questions about the legality of this decision.
The Express PK Press Club asked the police and the information minister to explain how people who financed a legally operating entity were charged, but no response was received before filing this report.
Dozens of people were arrested across the city, accused of having links to the TLP in order to prevent any possible gatherings on the anniversary of the death of the party founder. Mass arrests would not have spared even those who had no direct or indirect link with the group.
One of these individuals, Faisal Ilyas, a store owner in the town of Mustafa, was arrested simply for sharing a wall with a neighboring shopkeeper who happened to be a staunch supporter of the TLP. When police were asked about the logic behind the arrest – given that the victim’s dislike of the TLP was well known in the region – officials simply responded that they were acting on a list provided by intelligence agencies, thereby distancing themselves from any responsibility.
Senior lawyer Azhar Siddique, speaking to The Express PK Press Club, said it was “completely illegal” to arrest someone for funding a legitimate entity, adding that laws cannot be applied retrospectively. He said the law did not allow such excesses. Even the detention of individuals under Section 3 of the MPO, he said, was not entirely legal. “How can someone be detained in a police station on a whim?” » he questioned.
Furthermore, speaking to the press, Azma said that a significant quantity of modern weapons, bulletproof vests and ammunition were recovered during the operations against the organization.
She further said that 84% of imams in Punjab have been registered and the process will reach 100% in the coming days.
