After a 12-day march and sit-in of the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik in different cities of the country, an agreement has finally been reached between the government and the banned organization after which the banned TLP withdrew its demand for deportation of the French ambassador while the government will also withdraw the decision to declare the TLP banned.
The banned TLP has staged several protests over the past few years over the issue of honoring the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and several people, including policemen, have been killed in violent protests, while repeated sit-ins by the banned TLP has lost money worth billions and the nation is questioning why the nation needed to waste time and money if it was for personal gain.
Establishment of Tehreek-e-Labbaik
The root cause of this movement was the execution of Mumtaz Qadri by the Government of Pakistan on February 29, 2016, for the assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer after which a large public gathering was held at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi on March 1, the day after the execution.
Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan was formed under the leadership of Khadim Hussain Rizvi, and after his death, his son Saad Hussain Rizvi was appointed as the chairman, and cases were registered against him and he was sent to jail.
The Tehreek-e-Labbaik party was banned on April 14, 2021, under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The Government of Pakistan had banned the party on April 15, 2021, under Rule 11 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
Recent protests
The banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik resumed protests on 12 Rabi-ul-Awal and allowed sit-ins in different cities for 12 days, while several people were killed and injured in the violence and the banned organization has promised not to hold violent demonstrations and sit-ins again, while the former head of the Ruwait-e-Hilal Committee, Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, has come forward as a guarantor this time.
Agreement points
The government will release the arrested activists of the banned Tehreek-e-Libek, but Saad Rizvi and other activists involved in terrorism and serious cases will have to seek relief from the court. The government will not take any action against the sit-in participants.
After an agreement with the government, the banned TLP protesters in Wazirabad packed up their belongings while containers have been removed from all roads closed in view of the long march.
French ambassador resigns
Protests by the banned Tehreek-e-Libya were based on the demand for the deportation of the French ambassador to France against the publication of blasphemous sketches, for which the TLP was banned in April 2021 due to violent protests. It has withdrawn its longest-standing demand for the release and pardon of the workers and has promised that the banned organization will not be part of any future violent protests or sit-ins.
Was it a political gimmick?
While the Pakistani government banned the TLP due to its violent activities, it also accused the organization of Indian funding, while the one-point demand of the banned organization was the deportation of the French ambassador, who is currently the French ambassador to Pakistan. No, but the official deportation of the ambassador by the government meant severing ties with the whole of Europe, on which the government took a firm stand and refused to deport the ambassador and decided to deal with the banned organization with iron fists.
