The Pakistan government on Sunday removed the name of Tehreek-e-Labbaikal Pakistan (TLP) from the list of banned organisations. geo news informed of.
According to the report, the decision was taken after the Interior Ministry sent a summary to the federal cabinet seeking the party’s removal from the First Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. The summary was approved by the government.
TLP was placed in the said program in April 2021 on the recommendation of Punjab Home Department.
According to a notification by the Ministry of the Interior today: “The Provincial Cabinet has considered the request of the Organization and, in view of the assurances and commitment by the Organization, it is of the opinion that the said Organization shall comply with the Constitution and laws of the country and therefore, in the future as such.” Keeping in view the broader national interest and long-term perspective to ensure that the incidents of incidents of violence do not recur, the Punjab government has proposed to the federal government to consider revoking the ban on Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan. “
The notice states that “In exercise of the powers conferred under sub-section (1) of section 11U of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (amended), the Federal Government is pleased to delete the name of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, the said from the First Schedule to the Act as a prohibited organization for the purposes of the said Act”.
On 4 November, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar gave preliminary approval to a summary sent to him by the Punjab Home Department to revoke the TLP’s restricted status.
Sources told Geo News that after giving preliminary approval to the summary, the chief minister sent it to the federal cabinet to take a final decision on the matter.
The cabinet wing of the services department sent the summary to all the ministers in the province for their signatures, sources said, adding that approval of the summary required the support of at least 18 ministers.
As per the rules, if no reply is received within three days, the summary was to be considered approved.
Meanwhile, in compliance with a secret agreement between the government and the banned TLP, the Punjab government decided to remove the names of at least 90 activists of the banned organization from the Fourth Schedule.
The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Law Minister Punjab Raja Basharat in Lahore.
In the meeting, it was also decided to release 100 other activists of the organization from various jails of the province and the decisions taken by the Steering Committee constituted to deal with all matters related to TLP were reviewed.
Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Rao Sardar Ali Khan, Additional Chief Secretary Home Zafar Nasrullah and others were present in the meeting.
What is the fourth schedule?
Fourth Schedule is a section of the Anti-Terrorism Act under which any person suspected of terrorism is kept under surveillance. The list is sent to the police and other law enforcers for effective monitoring. If the fourth scheduler wants to go somewhere, he has to inform his nearest police station. The list also includes people suspected of indulging in anti-state activities and giving hate speech.
Government decides to withdraw appeal against Saad Rizvi’s release
In addition, on 2 November, the government began implementing the agreement with the TLP, according to reports it had released over 800 party supporters arrested across Punjab.
The government last Sunday signed an agreement with the banned outfit, under which activists of the organization who are not facing any formal criminal charges were to be released. This apology will also be given to the party’s top leader Saad Rizvi.
Implementation of the agreement began on Monday after a meeting of the steering committee set up by Prime Minister Imran Khan to ascertain how the deal would be executed.