ISLAMABAD:
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Friday ruled out any negotiations with the proscribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), saying the group had been “created in a bid to cut into the PML-N’s vote bank”.
Earlier, the Ministry of Interior has issued a notification declaring the TLP a proscribed organisation, placing it in the First Schedule under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997. Now a reference will be sent to the Supreme Court through the Ministry of Law.
Speaking on a private TV channel programme, Sanaullah, in response to a question regarding TLP’s future as a political party and whether it was being kept as an option to be used against rival political parties, agreed that TLP had been used in the past for that purpose and went on to quip that “it was created to steal votes from the PML-N’s vote bank”.
However, the adviser denied that the TLP’s current fate had anything to do with its previous use as a proxy group, stating that “it was up to the federal cabinet to decide on any dissolution plans”.
“I am not in a position to talk on behalf of the cabinet,” he said, expressing optimism that the decision to dissolve the party will be made.
When asked if the government was open to negotiating with the now-banned group if it provided any assurances, citing TLP’s 2021 ban and its subsequent lift, Sanaullah responded, saying, “I think there can be no reassurance after you have already violated reassurances that were made previously”.
He stressed that “any party, whether political, religious, or academic, involved in terrorist activities is liable to be banned under clause 11b of the Anti-Terrorism Act”.
The Punjab government on October 16 requested a ban on the TLP. This request was approved by the federal cabinet on Thursday.
The interior ministry’s notification states that the federal government considers the TLP involved in acts of terrorism, and under Section 11B(1A) of the ATA, it is being declared banned and included in the First Schedule.
Legal experts note that the First Schedule lists organisations proscribed under the ATA 1997.
Groups placed on it face complete restrictions on their activities, including opening offices, holding rallies, or participating in any public event. Their funds and bank accounts are frozen, and fundraising or financial assistance is prohibited.
Leaders and active members may face travel bans, while their media coverage and social media activity are also barred. Authorities can monitor such individuals by placing them in the Fourth Schedule to track their movements. Even rebranding under a new name is deemed illegal, and continuing activities under any name may lead to terrorism charges.
At least five peopleincluding a police officer, three TLP workers, and a passerbywere killed as law enforcement agencies carried out a major pre-dawn operation in Muridke on October 13 to disperse what officials described as “armed and violent mobs.”
The crackdown came amid a multi-day protest march by the TLP supporters moving from Lahore toward Islamabad in what the group called a pro-Palestine demonstration.
In a high-level meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on October 16, it was agreed that TLP leaders and workers involved in the death of police officers and destruction of public property will be tried in anti-terrorism courts (ATCs).
The police claimed that during the Muridke crackdown, the TLP protesters resorted to violence due to which 48 police and Rangers personnel sustained injuries with 17 wounded by gunfire.
