Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has said that the government’s talks with outlawed TLP have been successful.

Days after protests in Lahore, the banned outfit, on October 21, had announced that it would start a “long march” towards Islamabad on Friday.

“The blocked roads will now be reopened and the workers of the banned group will remain where they are till the Tuesday evening,” talking to journalists the interior minister said.

The TLP protesters will not move forward [to Islamabad] and will stay in Muridke till Tuesday, he added. The federal minister said, “Several points have been decided over the arrests and other demands of the group, which will be finalized by Tuesday.”

Prime Minister Imran Khan yesterday, formed a committee of federal ministers Sheikh Rashid, Noorul Haq Qadri, Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat to hold talks with the protesters.

Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadri, said that the issue will be resolved through mutual understanding. On the directives of the prime minister, Qadri had arrived in Lahore from Karachi to hold negotiations with the banned outfit’s leadership.

On Saturday, the government had dug up a trench on GT Road near Gujranwala in response to an announcement by TLP that they will set out on a long march towards Islamabad. The protest by the banned group had also affected Internet service in different areas of Lahore.