From Abid Usman
LAHORE: Federal Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid said on Sunday that the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) has agreed to call off its march to Islamabad after a “partially successful dialogue” with the leadership of the banned outfit. Rashid, who came to Lahore after abandoning his Dubai tour owing to the violent clashes between TLP and the Punjab Police, said the talks with the banned outfit were “almost complete”.
As per the talks, the TLP will not march towards Islamabad but stage a “peaceful” sit-in on GT Road in Muridke, about 50km away from Lahore, while the government will release the party workers detained over the past few days. The minister also promised that the issue pertaining to the expulsion of the French envoy to Pakistan will be tabled in the National Assembly as agreed upon in the previous agreement.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, the interior minister said the cases against the TLP workers will be withdrawn by Tuesday or Wednesday. He said the talks with the TLP lasted more than eight hours, hoping that situation will return to normalcy soon. “The administration has been told to remove all the containers except those placed on GT Road,” he added. In response to a question whether Saad Rizvi will be released, Rashid said, ‘Inshallah’.
Meanwhile, Religious Affairs Minister Noorul Haq Qadri said the government would “seriously consider” the demands of the banned outfit. He said the police will not touch the protesters who have agreed to remain peaceful. “Roads will be kept open,” he said, adding that the protesters will end the sit-in being held in Muridke peacefully after the demands are met.
The government has sought two days to meet one of the primary demands of the TLP i.e. the release of its chief Saad Rizvi and removal of his name from the Fourth Schedule. The TLP said it would call off its protest in return for the release of Rizvi and other TLP activists from jails and the removal of the TLP chief’s name from the Fourth Schedule.
The TLP also demanded of the government to drop terror charges against the TLP leadership besides withdrawing the appeal filed against the Lahore High Court order allowing the release of Rizvi. The government has two days to meet these demands and till then the TLP rally that had reached Muridke on Saturday will stay there and stage a peaceful sit-in.
The banned outfit said that it would not call off the protest till the acceptance of their demands citing a lack of trust in the government. “We, however, will not move past Muridke in line with the agreement,” the TLP leadership added. On Saturday, the security situation in Lahore and Rawalpindi remained tense due to clashes between the members of the religious outfits and law enforcement personnel.
The clashes resulted in the death of three policemen and two Labbaik workers, as per confirmed reports. Another TLP worker died after the police reportedly shelled the TLP camp on Saturday morning. On Tuesday, the banned TLP announced that it would turn its main Eid-e-Miladun Nabi rally in Lahore into a protest sit-in and urged the government to ensure implementation of the agreement reached with the party earlier this year.
