Pakistan: Religious party TLP uproar in Lahore, policemen taken hostage
In Pakistan, supporters of the religious party Tehreek-e-Tabbak demonstrated in Lahore on Sunday during which they had a violent clash with the police. He also kidnapped some policemen.
Pakistan’s Union Minister Sheikh Rashid has released a video informing that the policemen who were held hostage by the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in Lahore have been rescued. He said that this was possible after talks with party representatives and the talks will continue on Monday.
Earlier on Sunday, a police spokesperson in Lahore told the BBC that TLP was banned by Nawankot DSP Omar Farooq Baloch and other policemen on Sunday.
He said that on Sunday, force was used to control thousands of party workers and hundreds of people were loaded into trucks.
Mufti Munib-ur-Rehman, former chairman of the religious organization Ruwit-e-Hilal Committee, has called for a nationwide strike on Monday in protest against the government’s stand on the whole matter. He has appealed to all political parties to support it.
Maulana Fazlur Rahman, the head of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and president of the Pakistan Democratic Movement, has also announced “full cooperation” with Mufti Munib-ur-Rehman in the strike.
The Pakistan government banned the religious party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) after violent demonstrations in various cities of Pakistan this month.
TLP official and member of the negotiating committee Allama Muhammad Shafiq Amini said on Sunday night that talks were going on with his government and whatever announcement would be made would be released by the central committee.
He said, “As long as the dialogue continues, our peaceful protest will continue.”
What happened on Sunday?
Party supporters, who were opposing the government’s decision to ban, protested in Lahore on Sunday, during which there were clashes between their police in which at least 15 policemen and several workers were injured. The clash took place on Multan Road in the city.
Lahore police said that during this time there was a clash near TLP headquarters on Multan Road and many officials including DSP were abducted.
At least 15 policemen and several workers were injured in the clash. TLP claims that at least two deaths have occurred. But this claim has not been officially confirmed.
The TLP claimed that the police raided their hideouts on Sunday morning, while a Lahore police spokesman said the operation was carried out to free the kidnapped police personnel, including DSP Nawankot
TLP protesters held 12 policemen hostage, while according to police, “two TLP rangers were also detained.”
A police spokesperson said that a policeman was kidnapped the day before when he went to a nearby shop to get food, while DSP Nawankot and other police officers were attacked and abducted at the police station.
Meanwhile, a video message from DSP Omar Farooq Baloch has also surfaced, in which it can be seen that the banned TLP activists held him in an injured state.
A police spokesman said the group’s activists also seized two tankers filled with petrol from a nearby petrol pump, which they still have, and used the petrol to attack the police by making a petrol bomb. .
Meanwhile, Allama Shafiq Amini, the leader of the banned TLP Central Council, said in a statement that two of his workers were killed and 15 seriously injured in the police operation.
Demand for French ambassador fired
The TLP leader said he would not bury his dead employees until “the French ambassador was expelled from the country.”
The TLP gave the government a 20 April deadline to expel the French ambassador over an outrageous image published in France last year.
Protest of TLP has been going on in this area since last week.
Speaking to the media in Islamabad on Sunday, Pakistan Minister Sheikh Rashid said that the TLP had closed 192 places in the country, out of which 191 places have been opened.
The minister said, “Only Lahore orphanage chowk is closed and the situation is still tense”.
He said that there has been no interaction with TLP.
Security tightened in Rawalpindi and Islamabad
After the clashes in Lahore, policemen have been deployed in sensitive areas of Rawalpindi, security has also been tightened on the city’s main highways.
Several contingents of Rangers and police have been deployed in Faizabad on the highway connecting the capital Islamabad and Rawalpindi, police and Rangers personnel are also seen in many other places.
According to the news agency AFP, Pakistan’s TV challenges have been prevented from entering the tense area, but TLP supporters are uploading videos on social media.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan wrote on his Twitter, “I should clarify to people here and abroad: Our government has only taken action against TLP under our anti-terrorism law. They challenged the state, street violence And attacked the common people and government officials. No one can be above the law and the constitution. “
Agreement between Government and TLP
The government of Pakistan had signed a four-point agreement with former TLP chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi on 16 November 2020.
His demand was to remove the French ambassador to Islamabad. The French ambassador was to be repatriated after the legislation was passed by Parliament.
This agreement did not apply. In February 2021, another agreement was reached between the party and the government, in which the government was asked to implement the promise of sending the French ambassador back by 20 April.
Recently, the TLP had announced a long march despite the outbreak of Corona in Islamabad in the event of not sending the ambassador back.
