An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad handed over on Friday more than 30 Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) workers to the police for 14-day physical remand in connection with recent demonstrations by the religio-political party across Punjab.
Judge Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain accepted the investigation officer’s (IO) request for 14-day physical remand for identification parade.
Read: TLP’s Saad Rizvi ‘shot, injured’, Muridke SHO martyred
The detained suspects are accused of damaging public property and violent rioting in different cities across Punjab.
TLP crackdown
The governments in Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) have launched a crackdown against TLP, sealing several of the party’s offices and seminaries in the past week.
Ahead of TLP’s anti-Israel rally planned for October 10 outside the US Embassy in Islamabad, the police had raided the party’s offices in a bid to arrest TLP chief Saad Rizvi. Mobile data services were suspended and most of the city was blocked using containers last Friday.
Read more: Punjab police ‘strike gold’ in raid on TLP chief’s residence
The party was not granted permission to hold the rally.
The initial raid was met with resistance from TLP workers and clashes ensued along Multan Road. The situation worsened on Friday, and in the following days, with TLP workers rioting in different cities across Punjab and attempting to do the same in Karachi.
Apart from 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 Centre in this regard.
