Pakistan's Punjab govt to recommend ban on extremist group TLP

Islamabad, Oct 16 (PTI) Pakistan's Punjab province government on Thursday said it will recommend to the federal authorities to ban the extremist group Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) for staging violent protests last week.

The group launched a protest march on Friday with the mission to stage a sit-in in front of the US embassy in Islamabad in support of the people of Palestine.

At least five people, including a police officer, were killed and dozens injured on Sunday night when TLP supporters clashed with police on their way to Islamabad.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz chaired an extraordinary meeting on law and order, during which “historic decisions were made to establish the state’s writ and supremacy of the law”, a statement issued by her office said.

Without naming the TLP, the handout itself referred to decisions taken against an “extremist party”, including that the Punjab government will “recommend the federal government to impose a ban on an extremist party”.

“The extremist party's leadership will be placed in the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act,” the handout said. The Fourth Schedule is a list of proscribed individuals who are suspected of terrorism and/or sectarianism under the 1997 Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

“Individuals involved in hate speech, incitement and violation of law will be arrested immediately in Punjab,” the provincial government decided.

It was also decided that cases against “leaders and workers involved in the killing of police officers and damage to state property” will be tried in anti-terrorism courts (ATCs).

“All properties and assets of the extremist party will be handed over to the Punjab Auqaf Department. There will be a complete ban on the extremist party’s posters, banners and advertisements,” the statement added.

It further said that “all bank accounts” of the party will be frozen, and that its social media accounts “spreading hatred will be taken down”. The Punjab government also vowed “strict action on the violation of the Loudspeaker Act”.

The development comes amidst the crackdown on the TLP, which includes the arrest of about 2,700 people in the province.

It is not for the first time that the TLP is being banned, as previously a ban was imposed on the group in April 2021 on the recommendation of the Punjab government under the ATA, but it was later revoked in November that year upon the request of the Punjab government.

The group also faced restrictions imposed briefly in June 2023, when the party was carrying out a long march from Lahore to Islamabad, but reversed within days after an agreement was reached with the government.

TLP, a hardline group of Sunni Muslims, rose to prominence in 2017 when it launched a successful protest and forced the government to reverse its decisions regarding changes in the oath for parliamentarians. PTI SH ZH ZH