LAHORE: The provincial government has decided to form a committee to hold talks with the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar announced on Friday, after the organization demanded the release of its leader Saad Rizvi. protested.
Buzdar wrote on Twitter: “We have formed a committee to talk to senior members of Punjab cabinet Raja Basharat and Chaudhary Zaheeruddin. [banned] Tehreek-e-Labbaik.”
He said: “As per the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PUBH), we all need to work together for peace and harmony in the country.”
Significantly, members of the banned outfit had announced a “peaceful protest” after Friday prayers demanding Rizvi’s release.
2 policemen martyred in protest
Meanwhile, two policemen were killed in a car collision during a protest in the capital of Punjab.
According to the spokesman, policemen were injured in a car collision near the district court in Lahore. After the accident, he was taken to the hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries.
The slain policemen have been identified as Ayub and Khalid, posted at Gavalmandi and Mayo Garden police stations, the spokesman said.
Besides this, a clash broke out between the police and the activists of the banned organization near MAO College, in which 10 personnel including the Station House Officer (SHO) were injured.
He was later shifted to a nearby hospital, the spokesperson said.
Why was Saad Rizvi arrested?
Rizvi was taken into custody soon after the federal government declared the TLP a banned organization under anti-terrorism laws and launched a massive crackdown against the party.
The crackdown followed violent protests and traffic disruptions in Pakistan’s largest cities, in which public and private property was damaged by gangs of hooligans carrying sticks and triggering law enforcement officers at will.
Speaking on the move, Prime Minister Imran Khan explained that his government had taken action against the banned TLP because it “challenged the writ of the state and used street violence, attacking the public and law enforcers”. “.