ISLAMABAD: Taking a big and bold step towards repelling religious fanatciism, Pakistan on Thursday banned Tehreek Labaik Pakistan (TLP) and added it in the list of banned organisations.
The Interior ministry notified the ban of TLP after approval of the federal cabinet, which met here on April 15, 2021 with prime minister, Imran Khan, in the chair.
TLP has been banned under the Anti Terrorism Act 1997, an official notification issued here said.
The ban on TLP has been slapped after its recent country-wide violent protests that claimed lives of two cops, besides injuring hundreds others.
TLP had chocked the country by staging organised protests. Its founder cleric , Khadam Hussain Rizvi kept on making Islamabad and its twin city, Rawalpindi hostage by ataging a weeks long sit in at Faizabad, interjunction of the two cities in 2020.
He had done the same exercise in 2017 and forced the then government of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and forced it to accept its demands like expelling French ambassador from Pakistan and put a ban on all types of imports from France to protest objectionable caricaturing.
The government of Pakistan Tehreek -e- Insaf (PTI) faced the same pressure and accepted the similiar demands of the TLP in 2020.
TLP, which had got itself registered with Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and contested general elections in 2018, turned into a violent religious group that believed in violence to press the government to accept its demands. No matter its demands make any logic and sense and they will hurt Pakistan’s interests.
TLP’s recent violent protests not only challenged the state authority but also presented itself as a monster.
Interior minister, Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad, on Thursday told a press conference that TLP had a terrible plan to execute next week that, if implemented, could play havoc in the country.
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He said the ban is slapped on TLP for its involvement in terrorists activities .
Pakistan has a tainted history of banning the religious groups. For example, it banned different religious organisations like Sipa he Sahaba and Lashkar- e -Tayyaba and dozens others, but these organisations kept on working in Pakistan under different names.
The local media expressed its doubts that the ban on TLP will work.
This is a big question mark if one takes Pakistan’s past into account for implementation on its decisions of banning the religious organisations.
Pakistan is now left with no option , but to take the bull of religious groups like TLP by horns and take a firm stand to delete the culture of monster of religious groups from Pakistan.
