Daily Times

LAHORE: The Chief Minister Punjab of Usman Buzdar has given the initial approval to the summary sent to him for the revocation of the TLP’s banned status. The secretive deal signed between the government and the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), the Punjab home department had earlier in the day sent the said summary to him.

The cabinet wing of the services department has now sent the summary to all the ministers of the province for their signatures. As per the rules, if no reply is received within three days, the summary will be considered approved.  In compliance with a secretive deal between the government and the proscribed TLP, the Punjab government decided to remove the names of at least 90 activists of the proscribed outfit from the fourth schedule.

The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Law Minister Punjab Raja Basharat in Lahore. Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Rao Sardar Ali Khan, Additional Chief Secretary Home Zafar Nasrullah and others were also present in the meeting.

Meeting decided to release 100 more activists of the proscribed organisation from different jails in the province. It reviewed the decisions taken by the steering committee formed to deal with all TLP-related matters.

The fourth schedule is a section of the Anti-Terrorism Act under which someone who is suspected of terrorism is kept under observation. The list is referred to the police and other law enforcers for effective monitoring. If a fourth scheduler wants to move somewhere, he/she has to inform their nearby police station. The list also includes people suspected of involvement in anti-state activities and delivering hate speeches.

The government signed an accord with the proscribed outfit last Sunday, under which workers of the organisation who are not facing any formal criminal charges were to be released. The amnesty will also extend to the party’s top leader, Saad Rizvi.

So, Implementation of the agreement started after a Monday meeting of the steering committee formed by Prime Minister Imran Khan to work out how the deal would be executed.