Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Thursday warned the banned outfit Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) to face dire consequences if violence continues.
He urged the party to stick to the commitments it had made with the government earlier.
In case the group continues to resort to violence, “things will be out of my hands”, he stated.
The minister, while appearing on a TV show, said that no matter what happens, the government will stop the group from entering the capital.
He went on to warn the protesters to stop, and turn back or else the state would “establish its writ”.
He went on to add that Prime Minister Imran Khan would not allow the state to become “hostage”, and that the government does not want to see any more violence.
“Your loss is our loss”, he stated while addressing the TLP protestors.
He asked the TLP protestors that “why don’t you believe us when we say that the French envoy has left the country?”
He further stated that damaging one’s own country does not count as serving the religion in any manner.
“PM Imran is the first person to form the Rehmatullil Alameen Authority and take the country towards making it a welfare state like Madina,” he added.
The minister went on to reveal that he has spoken to Saad Hussain Rizvi multiple times in recent days and would talk to them again on Friday and Saturday. “However, the talks would only be held after they (the TLP) returns,” he clarified.
He added that matters with the TLP remain unresolved till now, which is the reason why Rangers had to be called in Punjab so that law and order across the province could be maintained.
Rasheed further stated that earlier TLP committed to unblock roads and the group should fulfil its promise, “otherwise, matters will go out of my hand,” he warned.
While talking about the four policemen martyred in clashes with the TLP, he said there had been a reaction on it in the police.
PM summons NSC meeting:
Earlier in the day, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has summoned a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) for Friday due to the ongoing protests by the TLP.
The meeting of the NSC will discuss the “illegal activities” the hardline religious group indulged in, Fawad tweeted.
“Other issues related to national security will also be discussed in the meeting,” he said.
Fawad also wrote in a separate tweet that “we have made it clear that there will be no talks unless the workers of the proscribed party clear the roads and hand over those involved in the martyrdom of police personnel to the institutions”.
During Wednesday clash with the TLP workers — who are demanding the release of TLP chief, Saad Hussain Rizvi, and the expulsion of the French ambassador over the publication of a series of blasphemous caricatures depicting Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) by a French weekly — at least four policemen were martyred.
The clash had broken out at a rally of the group on a highway in Sheikhupura, just outside Lahore, as the group had prepared to march on Islamabad. Police had said the activists armed with pistols and automatic weapons, including AK-47 rifles, had opened fire on security forces controlling the demonstrators.
Late on Wednesday, Fawad Chaudhry had told a news conference that violent activities of the party would not be tolerated and the TLP cannot blackmail the state.
PROTESTORS CONTINUE LONG MARCH:
Meanwhile, according to media reports, around 4,000 workers of TLP left Kamoke and entered Gujranwala city, continuing with their long march to Islamabad.
Soon after reaching the inner city, the TLP workers set up camp on GT Road, blocking the thoroughfare from Sheranwala to Lorry Adda. Markets in the vicinity were also closed down to avoid any untoward situation.
The protesters said they would spend the night in Gujranwala before leaving for Islamabad via Wazirabad and Gujrat in the morning.
The protestors travelled on the GT Road highway in large trucks and rented passenger buses along with their supplies, as stick-wielding activists of the group guarded the procession from all sides.
The rally was expected to continue its journey towards Islamabad after crossing the Gujranwala Bypass.
The highway remained closed for all kinds of traffic as the administration put up containers in Kamonki, Gujranwala and Jhelum cities anticipating large crowds. Heavy contingents of police were also deployed in the cities.
The commuters faced extreme difficulties due to the blockage of roads. Districts along the GT Road were brought to a standstill where the city administration had already placed shipping containers to block entry and exit routes.
Several roads in Islamabad city have also been shut down.
TLP FIASCO:
The group started demanding the expulsion of the French envoy in October last when France President Emmanuel Macron tried to defend caricatures as freedom of expression.
Macron’s comments came after a young man beheaded a French school teacher who had shown the caricatures in class. The images, first published in 2006, were republished by the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to mark the opening of the trial over the 2015 attack against the publication for the original caricatures.
Since then, Rizvi’s party had been threatening a march toward Islamabad, which it launched last week amid clashes that killed at least five people, including two police officers, in Lahore.
TLP gained prominence in the 2018 general elections, campaigning on the single issue of defending the blasphemy laws.
