On Saturday, Prime Minister Imran Khan approved the submission to his cabinet of a summary seeking the repeal of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP’s) Prohibited Status.
the government had declared TLP is an organization prohibited under anti-terror law in April this year by members of the group across the country, after three days of violent protests.
According to the contents of the summary issued by the Ministry of the Interior, a copy of which is available don.com, TLP had requested the Punjab government to lift the ban on it.
As well as “taking into account the commitment and assurances given by the organization”, the provincial cabinet asked the federal government to consider the de-boycott of the TLP, the summary noted.
“The Prime Minister has been pleased to allow the submission of prompt summary to the Cabinet by way of circulation under Rule 17(1) of the Rules (b) of the Business Act, 1973,” the summary said, adding that “with the approval of connecting cabinet is [now] Requested to de-restrict TLP under […] Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 on the recommendation of the Punjab Government.”
According to the Business Rules, 1973, approval by circulation means that a summary is sent to the federal ministers for their opinion. The recommendations of the ministers are sent to the Prime Minister after the stipulated time for further decisions on the matter.
TLP 29 April A review application was submitted against the decision of the Ministry of the Interior (PRC) on a recipe review committee [then] constituted to consider the matter and concluded that the government’s decision to declare the TLP an outlawed organization was made “on the merits”, the Interior Ministry summary said.
It said that the opinion of the Law Ministry has also been taken in this matter.
Opposition to TLP
The matter came under consideration again after another day-long protest by the TLP, which began in Lahore on 20 October. The protest, which turned violent, was launched mainly to pressure the Punjab government for the release of TLP chief Hafiz Saad Hussain Rizvi, son of its late founder Khadim Rizvi, and the French over blasphemous sketches of the holy for the expulsion of the ambassador. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The situation improved only after talks between the TLP and the government began on 30 October, with members of the government’s negotiating team claiming the next day that they had reached an ‘agreement’ with the banned group, but refused to disclose it. description.
sources had told dawn The TLP was assured that the government would not pursue petty cases against the TLP leadership and activists, but the cases registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act would be decided by the courts. It also assured the TLP leadership that it would unfreeze the accounts and assets of the banned organization and take steps to lift the ban.
Punjab cabinet recommendation
Following the recommendations of the Steering Committee of the Federal Government and the Punjab Cabinet Committee on Law, the provincial government on Thursday Sent A summary for the approval of the cabinet members to remove the ban on TLP at the earliest. “If opinion/approval is not received from any minister within three days, the minister shall be deemed to have accepted the recommendations contained in the summary,” the document said.
The sensitivity and importance of the matter can be gauged from the fact that according to sources, all the provincial ministers immediately gave their approval to the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
A senior Punjab government official said the chief minister would now forward the approval of the provincial cabinet to revoke the ban of TLP to the federal government for final approval. “The federal cabinet will approve the cancellation and the interior ministry will eventually notify it,” the official said.
While some 2,100 TLP activists have been released from police custody following a federal government-TLP agreement, the repeal of the group’s restricted status would automatically remove about 8,000 TLP activists from the Fourth Schedule – a list on which terrorism and communalism are banned. The suspects have been kept. Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997.