Daily Times

Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi and senior leader Afzal Qadri were booked on Saturday on charges of rioting and disrupting peace in various parts of the provincial capital, a private TV channel reported.

Police said 500 people, including Rizvi and Qadri, have been booked in 11 cases. They face charges of disrupting peace and blocking roads, police said. Separately, a petition seeking damages for the destruction of public property during protests led by the TLP was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday.

The petition submitted by a citizen, Abdullah Malik, states that the TLP protests caused considerable damage to the government and public property. It argued that the protection of the lives and properties of the citizen was the responsibility of the State, adding that not doing so had violated fundamental rights of the citizens. It asked the court to issue orders to the Punjab government to compensate for all damages caused to the citizens.

Meanwhile, two first information reports (FIRs) were registered at a police station in Islamabad against mob violence in the capital city. The FIRs have been registered against more than a hundred people, of which 20 are members of the religio-political parties. Those named in the FIRs have been accused of injuring police officials and violating Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which had been imposed in the capital city ahead of the protests.

The TLP wound up protest late Friday night after it reached an agreement with the government on the matter of acquittal of Asia Bibi in a blasphemy case. During the three-day protest across the country, a number of vehicles and properties were destroyed. Main intersections and roads were also blocked in major cities, resulting in severe mobility issues for the people.

Published in Daily Times, November  4^th 2018.