The federal government on Thursday declared the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) a proscribed organization under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The decision was taken during a federal cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif here.
In the meeting, the Ministry of Interior presented a summary to the Cabinet following a request from the Government of Punjab. Senior officials from the Punjab Government also joined the meeting via video link.
The cabinet was briefed on the TLP’s violent and terrorist activities across the country.
The officials informed the meeting that since its establishment in 2016, the group has been involved in multiple incidents of unrest and violence, causing significant disruption and loss of life.
It was also recalled that in 2021, the then government had imposed a ban on TLP, which was later lifted after six months on the assurance that the organization would refrain from any violent or disruptive activities in the future.
However, the cabinet was informed that TLP has violated those assurances by again resorting to the acts of violence and incitement.
The briefing highlighted that in the past, several security personnel and innocent bystanders lost their lives during TLP’s violent protests and rallies.
After reviewing the detailed briefing and the recommendations from the Government of Punjab, the federal cabinet unanimously viewed that the TLP has been actively engaged in terrorism and violent activities, consequently, declaring it a proscribed organization under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Earlier in the day, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said on Thursday that armed groups and religious militancy would not be allowed to challenge the writ of the state and that the federal government would decide the future of the extremist organisation TLP.
Addressing a press conference in Lahore on Thursday, Bokhari said that no one would be allowed to disturb the peace of Punjab and that the provincial government would take every possible step to protect law and order.
She said that all shops of arms dealers operating without valid licences had been sealed and that the licences of twenty-eight arms dealers had been cancelled. She added that a province-wide operation was underway against illegal arms suppliers.
The minister revealed that more than 1,012,000 individuals in Punjab currently hold personal firearm licences, while over 37,000 licences belong to private security companies and more than 42,000 have been issued to various institutions.
She questioned how peace could be ensured in a province with such a large number of weapons. She announced that all those possessing legal firearms must register them at government service centres, while anyone found in possession of illegal arms must surrender them immediately.
Bokhari explained that in 2021, a religious party [TLP] had stolen weapons from the police, and those same stolen arms were again used by TLP during the recent clashes, along with additional stolen equipment.
Bokhari said that under the directives of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, a prosecution cell had been established to assess damages caused during the recent clashes, including the number of injured and the extent of police equipment stolen.
She said a zero-tolerance policy had also been adopted against those spreading unrest or hate on social media.
She warned that no violation of the Loudspeaker Act would be tolerated, clarifying that loudspeakers could only be used for Friday sermons and the call to prayer.
The minister urged citizens to call helpline 15 if they had any information regarding illegal individuals or extremist religious groups. She assured that terrorism charges would be filed against such elements, but the identity of informants would remain confidential.
She said that all provocative and hate-inciting posters and banners would be removed across the province.
Speaking about illegal Afghan nationals, Bokhari said that Afghan citizens and other undocumented foreigners would soon be sent back to their countries. She added that the Punjab government was collecting information about illegal residents running businesses within the province.
Separately, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday sent 12 TLP to jail for an identification parade in cases related to interference in official duties, arson, and other offences.
In a separate case, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday granted a 14-day physical remand of six workers of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in a case involving violence against police personnel and torching of vehicles.