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Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is staging a sit-in at a major traffic junction connecting Rawalpindi and Islamabad to express solidarity with the people of Palestine and pressure the government to meet its demands regarding the ongoing war in Gaza. Known for its hard-line stance on blasphemy laws, TLP has previously staged sit-ins at the Faizabad Interchange.
The presence of large numbers of protesters in the area significantly disrupts traffic, forcing drivers to take longer, alternative routes between the two cities. Led by their young leader Saad Rizvi, TLP workers took out a protest rally from Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi to Faizabad before deciding to set up a protest camp at the interchange.
“We will stay here until our demands are met,” Rizvi was quoted as saying in a TLP statement. “Our first demand is to send food and medical aid to the oppressed Palestinians,” he continued. “Our second demand is for the Pakistani government to announce a boycott of Israeli products on an official level. Our third demand is to declare Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a terrorist.”
The war in Israel began last October and has so far claimed the lives of about 39,000 people, mostly women and children. While Pakistan’s civil society and political factions have consistently brought out pro-Palestinian rallies, it is not clear what prompted the TLP to initiate the sit-in nearly nine months into the war.
