An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad on Friday handed over more than 30 Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) workers to the police for 14-day physical remand in connection with the religious political party’s recent protests in Punjab.
Justice Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain accepted the investigation officer’s request for a 14-day physical remand for the identification parade.
Read: TLP’s Saad Rizvi ‘shot, injured’, Muridke SHO martyred
The arrested suspects are accused of damaging public property and causing violent riots in different cities of Punjab.
repression of BPD
The governments of Punjab and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) have launched an offensive against the TLP, sealing several of the party’s offices and seminaries last week.
Ahead of the TLP’s anti-Israel rally planned for October 10 in front of the US embassy in Islamabad, police raided the party’s offices in an attempt to arrest TLP chief Saad Rizvi. Mobile data services were suspended and most of the city was blocked by containers last Friday.
Read more: Punjab police ‘find gold’ in raid on TLP chief’s residence
The party was not granted permission to hold the demonstration.
The initial raid was met with resistance from TLP workers and clashes broke out along Multan Road. The situation worsened on Friday and in the following days when TLP workers rioted in different cities of Punjab and tried to do the same in Karachi.
In addition to legal action 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.
