Punjab Information and Culture Minister Azma Bokhari said on Thursday that a decision on the “fate of an extremist party” — an apparent reference to the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan — was expected to come shortly from the federal government.
“The Punjab government had prepared its case on this and forwarded it,” she added.
She made this statement during a press conference in Lahore, days after the Punjab government forwarded a summary to the Centre to ban the religio-political party and amid reports of a federal cabinet meeting scheduled for later today.
At the press conference, the provincial minister detailed recent measures taken by the Punjab government pertaining to law and order and security following a TLP protest earlier this month.
These also include steps taken regarding weapons possession and licences, on which Bokhari said the provincial government had “suspended the licences of 28 weapons’ dealers and the shops of some other fake dealers who lacked licences have been sealed”.
“There is a zero-tolerance policy on buying and selling of weapons, and as I said earlier, no licence for weapons will now be issued in Punjab,” she added.
The minister further stated that currently, over one million people in the province had weapons’ licences. “A province where such a large number [of people] have licences for weapons, you can figure out how big a challenge it is to maintain peace.”
Moreover, 47,918 security companies in the province had weapons’ licences and the number of licences issued to various institution exceeded 42,000, she added.
Bokhari then went on to share some details of weapons and ammunition, which she said had been found in custody of “people belonging to the TLP”.
With pictures displayed on a screen in the background, she said TLP protesters had snatched weapons, ammunition and other articles from police during their protests in previous years.
“This is their modus operandi. They surround police, snatch vehicles, weapons and tear gas guns from them and use them later.
“In the 2021[protest], they robbed 3,498 tear gas shells, 23 tear gas guns, 326 anti-riot kits, two 12-bore pistols and 11 submachine guns,” she said. Pointing to one of the pictures on the screen, she added that they matched the bullets that were shot at police during the TLP’s recent protest.
According to Bokhari, TLP activist damaged eight police vehicles and snatched a submachine gun, two 12-bore pistols, 945 bullets during their recent protest. Moreover, the minister said the protesters had snatched 197 helmets, 22 kits, 130 “safety sheets”, one tear gas guns and 984 tear gas shells, of all which wear part of anti-riot gear.
They even damaged Safe City cameras, Bokhari added.
She further said that a special prosecution cell was working on cases pertaining to the TLP, in which 559 suspects had been sent on physical remand. Among them, 161 were sent to jail and 190 were on judicial remand, she added.
Moving on actions taken regarding social media posts, she said a total of “75 links” had been blocked for sharing hateful and inciting material and 107 people had been apprehended.
Bokhari further said citizens could give tip-offs to police about “the extremist party” and “illegal citizens, be it Afghans or anyone else”, by calling 15 police helpline. Their calls would be transferred to a special cell and the informants’ name would be kept secret, she assured.
She stressed that “dala culture”, too, would not be tolerated.
“Giving a call for strike and forcing shops, business and transport to shut down is totally unacceptable. Cases will be registered under terrorism laws [against those involved],” she further warned.
Bokhari also emphasised that there was a province-wide ban on posters, pamphlets, branding or any other kind of publicity of “extremist mobs”.
About Afghan refugees, she said combing operations had been initiated to identify those lacking the necessary documents, who would then be shifted to centres established at the district level. They would then be sent back to their country in a respectful manner.
This would also apply to others residing in Punjab “illegally”, she said, adding that “information was being collected about illegal citizens doing business in Punjab so that they could also be repatriated”.
In this connection, the minister warned that renting or leasing out properties to “illegal citizens” or letting them stay at one’s residence was a crime and action would taken over it. “The Punjab government has taken a decision on this and it is being implemented.”
She also said the Punjab government had requested the Centre to regularise weapons’ factories.
TLP protest
The Punjab government’s decision to seek a ban on the TLP was made during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Oct 16, five days after the religio-political party had begun a protest march in Lahore.
The party — which has a history of violent protests — had set out for what it described as a “Gaza solidarity” march, pledging to reach Islamabad and protest outside the US embassy. Ahead of its planned march, roads had been blocked in mutiple areas of Punjab and mobile internet services suspended in the federal capital and Rawalpindi.
The TLP protesters had camped at Muridke on the night of Oct 11, the very first day of their march, and later stayed there until an operation by law enforcement personnel on Oct 13 that resulted in their dispersal.
Dawn reported that the marchers were unable to move forward due to large trenches dug by the district administration along the main GT Road.
Meanwhile, throughout the duration of the protest, reports of clashes between TLP activists and law enforcement personnel kept emerging.
On Oct 12, law enforcement agencies, including Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) and large contingents of police from five districts, were dispatched to Muridke and were reported to have surrounded the TLP protest camp, in what appeared to be preparations for a large-scale operation.
Subsequently, law enforcement agencies launched a sweeping pre-dawn operation on Oct 13 to dismantle the party’s protest camp in Muridke, triggering violent clashes, widespread chaos and dozens of arrests.
The Punjab government has been taking stringent measures since, while several TLP activists have been arrested with cases against them registered under terrorism laws.
However, there has been no official confirmation about the whereabouts of TLP chief Saad Rizvi. But, according to an Oct 20 report from Dawn, authorities in Punjab have claimed to have traced his and his brother Anas’s whereabouts, saying that they had fled to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
A senior official told Dawn that law enforcers had shared this information with AJK authorities and sought their help to nab the TLP leaders. The development follows speculation — fuelled by TLP circles — that their party chief was in custody.
In the meeting chaired by Maryam on Oct 16, it was also decided to place the TLP leadership in the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act. \
The Fourth Schedule is a list of proscribed individuals who are suspected of terrorism and/or sectarianism under the 1997 ATA.
Several others decisions were also made during the session, following which Bokhari shared during an Oct 21 press conference that individuals providing “financial or political support” to TLP would face terrorism charges.
“Some 3,800 TLP financiers have been identified. Their funding sources have been blocked and legal action will be initiated against them under anti-terrorism laws,” she had said.
She had further claimed that 1.92 kilogrammes of gold was recovered from TLP head Saad Rizvi’s house, along with 898 grammes of silver, 68 rare watches and other valuables. Besides, Saad Rizvi purchased properties under benami (anonymous) ownership and turned certain areas into no-go zones, the minister alleged.
She further stated that the management of TLP-linked mosques and madressahs had been placed under the Auqaf Department. “This is not an action against any sect or group but against extremist ideology. A total of 130 TLP mosques have been taken into government control and 223 seminaries have been geo-tagged.”
Bokhari had also said 95 bank accounts linked to Saad Rizvi had been frozen.
She had also shared that the Punjab government had forwarded the summary to ban the party to the Centre.
Previously, the federal government had banned the TLP in April 2021 on the recommendation of the Punjab government under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The ban was later revoked in November that year upon the request of the Punjab government, days after a deal was reached with the group to end its violent protest march towards Islamabad.
