Lahore: Pakistan’s Punjab police have so far arrested over 5,500 members of a radical Islamist party following violent clashes earlier this week over plans to stage an anti-Israel demonstration.
The supporters of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) launched a protest march on Friday last with the mission to stage a sit-in in front of the US Embassy in Islamabad in support of the people of Palestine. Subsequently, Pakistani authorities closed major roads leading to Islamabad to block the entry of protesters and suspended mobile internet services to disrupt their communication.
On Monday this week, 16 people, including policemen, were killed and over 1,600 injured in clashes between police and TLP supporters at Muridke, some 60 km from Lahore, the Punjab police said.
The TLP, however, claimed that dozens of its supporters were killed, while thousands injured after police allegedly opened fire on the “unarmed” protesters expressing their solidarity with Palestinians.
A spokesperson for Punjab Police told Dawn newspaper on Saturday that over 5,500 TLP workers and leaders have been arrested so far from different parts of the province, which has a population of around 130 million.
TLP chief Saad Rizvi has so far evaded arrest, but he will be apprehended soon, the spokesperson said, adding that as per official data, 1,648 policemen were injured, 50 were left disabled, and 97 police vehicles were destroyed in the clashes with the TLP.
“The crackdown on the TLP is underway and more arrests will be made,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has forwarded a summary to the federal government seeking a ban on the TLP.
“The Punjab cabinet has given its approval for banning TLP and has forwarded a summary to the federal government for its endorsement,” Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said.
According to a charge sheet issued by the Punjab government, the TLP has been involved in violent demonstrations over the past eight years, including attacks on police and civilians, destruction of public property, and incitement of sectarian and religious hatred.
The TLP was previously banned by the Imran Khan-led government in 2021 following deadly protests demanding the expulsion of the French ambassador over alleged blasphemy. The ban was lifted a few months later.
Bokhari said TLP’s latest protest was announced “in the name of Gaza”, even though a ceasefire had already been reached.
She claimed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir played a “significant role” in achieving the ceasefire.
“The government has also started a process to freeze the bank accounts and social media handles of the TLP,” Bokhari said.
In a separate development, Bokhari said the Punjab government had filed a complaint with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) against jailed former prime minister Imran Khan for allegedly spreading false information that over 400 people were killed in Muridke.
“The NCCIA has been requested to register a case against Imran Khan for falsely claiming in a post on X that over 400 people were killed during clashes between law enforcers and the TLP,” she said.
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