4 killed, scores injured in clashes between police, TLP

At least three people and a policeman were killed while 40 other personnel injured as clashes between protesters and police continued in multiple cities of the country for a second day on Tuesday against the arrest of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) Chief Saad Hussain Rizvi.

The police also registered an FIR against Rizvi and other TLP leaders under terrorism and other charges.

The policeman was killed in overnight clashes with the protesters, Lahore police chief Ghulam Mahmood Dogar said. 10 policemen were wounded in these clashes in the Shahadra neighbourhood. Two members of the TLP were also reported dead in Punjab.

As the protests spilled over into other cities, the police arrested more than 100 supporters of the party.

The violence began late on Monday after the police arrested Rizvi in Lahore.

According to Dogar, the arrest was aimed at maintaining law and order. But Rizvi’s detention quickly sparked violent protests in cities around the country. The protesters blocked highways and roads in several cities.

The deadly clashes come two days after Rizvi in a statement asked the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan to “honour” a commitment it made in February to his party to expel French ambassador, Marc Baréty, before April 20.

However, the government has said it only committed to discussing the matter in the National Assembly.

The reaction from Rizvi’s supporters against his arrest was so swift that police in Lahore could not clear a main highway and roads. Thousands of people were stranded in their vehicles.

Monday’s clashes initially erupted in Lahore. The protesters later clashed with police in Karachi and they continued rallying on the outskirts of Islamabad, which caused travelling issues for the residents.

On Tuesday, the protesters clashed with police in Karachi and set ablaze several vehicles after law enforcement agencies launched a crackdown and dispersed protesters from Star Gate to allow the flow of traffic to return to normal.

As per details, a clash between the police and protesters was reported near the Star Gate area of Karachi. The protesters burnt several motorcycles, cars. Clash also erupted at Baldia Town No 4 between police and protesters. As a result, one person identified as Tariq died.

Amid sporadic violent clashes between protesters and law enforcement agencies, a significant number of the country’s major arteries remained blocked on Tuesday. The blockades have paralysed business in almost all major cities.

In a statement, the spokesperson for the party, Tayyab Rizvi, said that the protests will not be called off till the “French ambassador is deported”. He added that more party workers are arriving at areas from where other supporters were earlier arrested by law enforcement officials.

An important meeting of Punjab’s Provincial Committee on Home Affairs was also held under the chairmanship of Law Minister Raja Basharat. The meeting also ordered the deployment of Rangers along with police at 16 sensitive locations of the provincial capital.

It was decided in the meeting that whoever takes the law into his hands will be arrested immediately and a case will be registered against him. The deployment of the Pakistan Army was also discussed during the meeting.

The paramilitary troops have also been deployed in Islamabad for the security of the Red Zone, diplomatic enclave and all important government buildings in the federal capital. As the protests continued, the federal government also deployed the paramilitary Rangers at Islamabad’s Faizabad Bridge, IJP Road and Dhokri Chowk.

In Islamabad, Murree Road is closed to all types of traffic and Bara Kahu is also blocked as the protesters have barricaded it with trucks.

In Karachi, traffic flow remained suspended due to sit-ins as well. According to the traffic police spokesperson, the protesters have staged a sit-in at Orangi No 5, Baldia Hub River Road, Korangi No. 2. The traffic police have requested the citizens to take an alternative route.

In Lahore, the areas of Lahore Ring Road, Droghawala Chowk, Karol Ghati and Bhatta Chowk. Similarly, Shanghai Bridge, Ferozepur Road, Battery Stop, Yateem Khana and Imamia Colony Phatak are closed due to protests. Motorways were reopened at 5:00am and normal traffic flow resumed.

Rizvi emerged as the leader of the party in November after the sudden death of his father, Khadim Hussain Rizvi. His supporters have previously held rallies to ask the government not to repeal the blasphemy laws.

Blasphemy is punishable with a mandatory death sentence.

The TLP wants the government to boycott French products and expel the French ambassador under an agreement signed by the government with Rizvi’s party in November.

TLP and other religious parties have denounced French President Emmanuel Macron since October last year, saying he tried to defend blasphemous caricatures of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) as freedom of expression.

Macron’s comments came after a young Muslim beheaded a French school teacher who had shown the blasphemous caricatures in class.

The images had been 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. That enraged many Muslims in Pakistan and across the world who believed those depictions were blasphemous.

In November 2017, Rizvi’s followers staged a 21-day protest and sit-in after a reference to the sanctity of Holy Prophet (PBUH) was removed from the text of a government form.

GOVT ORDERS ACTION AGAINST LAW-BREAKERS:

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed ordered action against law-breakers and necessary measures to reopen several road and entry and exit points due to countrywide protests of a religio-political party.

The interior minister chaired a high-level session to review the law and order of the country following the protests that erupted in multiple cities being organised by a religio-political party. The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, and Interfaith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri, chief commissioner, inspector general (IG) of Islamabad police, whereas the Punjab chief secretary and IG joined the session via video-link.

Rasheed decided to take strict action against those creating law and order situation, as well as ordered to suspend cellular and internet services in affected areas.

It has been decided by the interior ministry to take strict action against the protesters who are violating the law and necessary steps to reopen the routes for traffic. Moreover, the cellular and internet services will be suspended in affected areas for 24 hours where the law and order situation persists.

Meanwhile, major sit-ins by a religious party which severely disrupted traffic and had thousands of people stranded for hours a day earlier continued on Tuesday. The protests, however, remained limited to certain areas.

COAS CALLS ON PM:

Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa called on Prime Minister Imran to discuss the ongoing protests by TLP in the country.

According to media reports, the meeting between the top military and civilian leadership discussed the ongoing situation in the country. Regional situation and national security issues were also discussed during the meeting.

‘ISLAM DOES NOT PERMIT VIOLENCE’:

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Interfaith Harmony Maulana Tahir Ashrafi appealed to the religious organisation to shun their protests, saying that Islam does not permit intolerance in the name of religion.

Speaking to a local news outlet, he regretted the incident in Dera Ghazi Khan where a police officer was subjected to torture.

“This police officer is also a member of the Holy Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) Ummah. It is not as if he is not a human being,” said Ashrafi.

He said that the incumbent government had raised the issue of Islamophobia and blasphemy at the global stage, adding that Pakistan had “led the Islamic world” in its fight against blasphemy.

Ashrafi appealed to protesters to think of the people who were at danger from the clashes and the women and children who were stranded since the past 24 hours.

“As the chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) I would like to appeal the protesters to realise the danger that the people in need of oxygen are in,” he said. “Whoever it is, whether it is a police officer or a common man or the worker of a religious party, at the end of the day, the blood of a Pakistani is being shed,” he said.

He called upon the leadership of religious parties to restrain their workers from committing acts of violence. “Neither does Islam nor any other religion permit such acts of violence,” he said.

Ashrafi said the Holy Prophet (PBUH) had declared it unlawful for a Muslim to cause pain or injury to others, adding that the government was the “gatekeeper of Khatam-e-Nabuwwat” issue and was also the defender of the honour of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had defended the honour of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in front of the entire world and had spoken out against Islamophobia.

Ashrafi said that Pakistan led the Islamic world in its fight against Islamophobia and also, when incidents such as the burning of the Holy Quran took place in some countries, Pakistan was the first to condemn them in the strongest manner.

He urged the protesters to keep in mind the situation of Muslims in Pakistan who were preparing for Sehri for the following day. He said that in front of Allah, all those who were responsible for bloodshed will be held accountable.

“Who will be responsible when people die due to our negligence? We will have to answer for our deeds in front of Allah. If the government makes a mistake, it will have to answer for it [on the Day of Judgment] and in the same way, if people make mistakes, they will also answer for it,” he added.

He said that when PM Imran had spoken out against the rise in rape and sexual violence cases due to increasing vulgarities, religious parties should have stood with the prime minister and backed his words.

Ashrafi said that whatever was happening in Pakistan, in the form of protests, was not appropriate. He urged the protesters to come to the negotiating table, adding that Pakistan’s security institutions “are not weak”.

Meanwhile, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said that the disruption of oxygen supplies during protests on Monday night had been a crisis.

“Please do not block roads for ambulances and for visitors to the hospitals. Some ambulances are carrying oxygen cylinders, which are extremely essential for Covid patients,” Yasmin said.