Ministry of Interior notified ban on Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) on Friday.
Federal Cabinet on Saturday approved the Punjab government’s proposal to ban the religio-political party under Anti-terrorism act. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif presided over the meeting.
The Punjab government had proposed a ban on the TLP following the Muridke violence. TLP activists clashed with security forces in Muridke, resulting in deaths and injuries on both sides. Many claim that security forces opened fire on the protesters — a charge the government has strongly denied. The TLP was marching towards Islamabad in ‘solidarity with the people of Gaza’ when the Muridke incident occurred.
It is the second time since the formation of the TLP in 2015 that the government has banned its activities. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had previously imposed a ban on it in April 2021. However, the same government lifted in same year in November following the TLP’s October’s protest movement.
Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) Emergence and Activism:
TLP represents the Barelvi school of Islamic thought, an offshoot of the 19th-century Sufi tradition in united India. It had started its activism as Tehreek-e-Rehai Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer. Mumtaz Qadri was hanged in 2016. His hanging radicalised sections of the Barelvi movement in Pakistan around the widely contested and controversial issue of blasphemy. Assigned to protect the governor, Qadri, a police commando, murdered Taseer. A follower of the Barelvi/Sunni school of Islam, Qadri immediately surrendered and claimed he killed Taseer because the latter had spoken in defence of Asia Bibi — a blasphemy accused who was arrested in 2010. On death row for years, she was acquitted by the Supreme Court in 2018 on the basis of insufficient evidence and left Pakistan the following year.
The TLP, under the leadership of late Khadim Hussain Rizvi, a firebrand Barelvi/Sunni cleric, emerged as a formidable force during the period.
He led the party till his death in November, 2020. Saad Hussain Rizvi succeeded the party three-day after the death of his father.
The whereabouts of Saad and his younger brother, Ans Rizvi, have been unknown since the Muridke incident. Some claim that both brothers — or Saad alone — were killed in the clash with security forces. Others believe they fled to Azad Kashmir, while many say they are in police custody. The Punjab government, however, has maintained that they fled to AJK. And, it has added, would soon be arrested, as police know their hideout.
Meanwhile, police have arrested over 2,000 workers, seized offices, and conducted raids to arrest TLP-affiliated individuals over the past 10 days.
Can TLP Re-emerge on Political Scene?
The TLP organized a series of protestors and marches since its formation and many turned severely violent. It forced two civilian governments of the PML-N (2013-2018) and PTI (2018-2022) to surrender to its conditions during protests.
For example, the TLP had pushed the PML-N government to withdraw the 2017 election bill and sack the then law minister Zahid Hamid. It forces former Prime Minister Imran Khan to reverse his announcement to include known economist Atif Mian in the cabinet for being Ahmadi/Qadiani. It compelled the PTI government to present the resolution for debate on expelling the French envoy in the National Assembly. Many allege that the TLP is a product of Pakistan’s powerful military establishment.
However, unlike other religious parties that have performed poorly in every election, the TLP surprised many in the 2018 and 2024 general elections by securing over two million votes in each. It emerged as the third-largest party in Punjab in terms of votes, after the PTI and PML-N, surpassing the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
In Pakistan, political parties have often been banned for political reasons. However, it was only in the last decade that the state began taking harsh measures against militancy. And what it terms violent and sectarian religious activism.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has the final authority to decide on the ban, as the government is expected to move a reference to the top court within 15 days to validate its decision to outlaw the TLP. Many believe the government has not imposed a permanent ban on the party, suggesting it is only a move for ‘purge’.
