–TLP chief Khadim Rizvi among 1,135 others detained for 30 days under Section 3 of MPO
–Punjab govt imposes Section 144 across province, bans rallies and congregations till Dec 1
LAHORE: The Punjab government on Saturday detained Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) firebrand chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi, TLP’s patron-in-chief Pir Afzal Qadri and their over 1,100 followers for 30 days under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance after raids were conducted in various cities overnight to arrest the zealots to prevent them from holding a congregation in Faizabad on Sunday, November 25.
The Punjab Home Department, in a notification on Saturday, said that 1,135 TLP activists, including their leader Khadim Rizvi, had been taken into protective custody under Section 3 of the MPO.
Ninety-five people were arrested from Lahore alone, the home department said, adding that those arrested under the three sections of the MPO ordinance will be detained for 30 days, in view of the threat they pose to the public’s safety, peace and order.
The Punjab government also imposed Section 144 across the province till December 1. Rallies, demonstrations as well as any congregations of five or more people are banned under the section. Use or display of any kind of weapons is also prohibited.
‘RIZVI’S REFUSAL TO CALL OFF RALLY LED TO ARRESTS’:
Late on Friday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that Khadim Hussain Rizvi had been taken into protective custody by the police and shifted to a guest house after the TLP chief refused to withdraw his call for observing ”Martyrs’ day’ in Faizabad on Sunday.
“They insisted to come to Rawalpindi refusing governments proposal for alternative arrangements. It’s to safeguard public life, property and order and has to do nothing with Asia Bibi case,” Chaudhry tweeted.
The information minister requested the citizens to remain peaceful and cooperate with the authorities.
“The TLP has become a threat to the life and properties of the people of Pakistan and continues to do its politics under the cover of religion,” he added.
The minister said that the government “did it[s] best” to convince the party against convening for the protest, “but they refused every offer and started to provoke violence”.
When contacted, the Ministry of Interior said the action was taken after the TLP leadership ignored repeated requests made by the government and local administration to postpone the Nov 25 rally in view of the recent surge in the acts of terrorism across the country. “Not only did they refuse blatantly, but also resorted to their typical coercive techniques of causing damage to life and property,” it added.
Law enforcement personnel also took in custody Tehreek-e-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYR) chief Dr Asif Ashraf Jalali.
Soon after the news of the arrest of the two clerics spread, hundreds of activists of the two parties took to the streets and blocked many roads for traffic.
A constable was seriously injured at Multan Road where the violent activists clashed with police.
Following the unrest and severe clashes, Rangers reached Lahore, taking control of city’s major roads. Prior to the agitation, a police officer said, hundreds of trained police commandos and personnel of the anti-riot force were dispatched to the Multan Road after the information that violent activists of the TLP had held a senior police officer — Iqbal Town SP Syed Ali — hostage along with his guards.
MASS ARRESTS:
The district authorities in Rawalpindi issued detainment orders for TLP divisional leader Inayatul Haq. According to the notification, Haq will be detained in a jail for 15 days.
In Sialkot, police arrested Sufi Mohammad Rafiq, district chief of the TLP, and four main activists of the party, identified as Saleem Shahid, Mehbub Hassan, Nasir Dogar and Syed Kaleemul Hassan Shah.
On Saturday, security officials said that since last night, at least 30 of the party’s workers have been arrested from various parts of the capital.
According to police sources, 143 TLP workers have so far been arrested from Rawalpindi, 18 from Attock, 55 from Jhelum and five from Chakwal, taking the total arrests from the four cities to 221.
More than a hundred arrests were also made in Karachi, according to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) East Azfar Mahesar, who visited Numaish Chowrangi to brief police officials.
Though Information Minister Fawad ruled out any connection between the crackdown on TLP to the Aasia Bibi case, informed sources claimed that the government had been planning the move for over a week and it was likely that Aasia and her family would be spirited out in the next couple of weeks.
The arrest “has to do nothing with Aasia Bibi case”, Chaudhry said, adding the TLP had insisted on coming to Rawalpindi “refusing [the government’s] proposal for alternative arrangements”.
The arrests come weeks after the TLP led three-day protests across the country against the acquittal of Aasia Bibi.
During the protests, the demonstrators had termed Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar “liable to be killed” and had called for a rebellion against the army chief “because he is a non-Muslim”.
This had led to Prime Minister Imran Khan issuing a stern warning to the agitators and telling them: “Do not clash with the State”.
“Do not take us [to a situation] where we are compelled to take [strict] action,” the prime minister had said in a televised speech.
Two days later, however, the TLP had agreed to end the nationwide protest sit-ins after reaching an agreement with the federal and Punjab governments under which the latter agreed to initiate the legal process to put Aasia Bibi’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL) and refrain from objecting to review of the court judgement.
The TLP, in turn, had only offered an apology “if it hurt the sentiments of or inconvenienced anyone without reason”.
ONE YEAR TO FAIZABAD:
In Nov 2017, TLP workers demanding the resignation of then law minister Zahid Hamid had staged a weeks-long sit-in at the Faizabad interchange that had virtually paralysed the federal capital and led to several people losing their lives.
On November 21 of the same month, the apex court had taken notice of the sit-in and directed the defence and interior secretaries to submit a detailed report on the matter.
Days later, the then PML-N government had launched against the protesters an operation which, when failed, had forced the authorities to cave and Hamid to resign.
The Supreme Court on Thursday had reserved its verdict on the suo motu case over the Faizabad sit-in. The reserved verdict pertains to a variety of issues stemming from TLP’s infamous sit-in, including its party registration as well as its violent protest.