ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday urged a “hard state” approach to counter extremist religious groups, as the government moved closer to banning the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) following violent protests that left several people dead and dozens injured across Punjab.
Speaking to a local news outlet, Asif said groups that use religion to justify violence had no place in Pakistan and must be dealt with decisively. “We have to become a hard state,” he said. “Such religious extremist groups, which resort to violence and cause damage to property, cannot be tolerated in Pakistan.”
His comments came after the Punjab government submitted a summary to the federal government recommending a ban on the TLP under anti-terrorism laws. While Asif did not directly confirm the imminent ban, he said it was time for the state to enforce the rule of law without compromise.
“It is too late,” Asif remarked, referring to the decades-long state tolerance of extremist organisations. “Everyone knows who created them and for what purpose. But from now on, the state will function strictly in accordance with the law, rules, and the Constitution.”
The minister’s remarks follow violent demonstrations by TLP supporters, during which clashes with police resulted in multiple deaths, injuries, and the destruction of government property.
The party, which claims to champion blasphemy-related causes, has previously staged disruptive sit-ins that paralysed cities and pressured successive governments into concessions.
Meanwhile, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari confirmed that the provincial cabinet’s recommendation to ban the TLP had been sent to Islamabad and expressed confidence that the federal government would approve it “within a day or two.”
Bokhari said a special prosecution cell had been formed to pursue cases against those involved in the Muridke violence and warned that strict action would be taken against the group’s financial backers.
“Thirty-eight financiers who funded terrorist organisations have been identified, and all their accounts have been frozen,” she said at a press conference. “Anyone found aiding the TLP financially will face terrorism charges.”
The minister said the unrest had claimed three civilian lives and injured 48 others, while 110 police personnel were wounded, 18 of them by gunfire. Eight police vehicles were torched and seized, and weapons were recovered from the rioters, she added.
Bokhari said footage of all attacks had been collected, including videos showing police officers being assaulted in Lahore’s Shahdara area. “An organised cell was set up to threaten politicians and journalists,” she said, adding that several mosques affiliated with the TLP had been taken under government control and hundreds of seminaries geo-tagged.
She further revealed that 33 terrorism cases had been registered and that TLP leader Saad Rizvi and his brother were “being traced and will soon be apprehended.” Properties and bank accounts linked to Rizvi had been sealed, Bokhari said, stressing that the state was “not targeting any sect or party but an extremist ideology.”
Bokhari accused the group of attempting to exploit the Gaza crisis for political ends. “The TLP falsely portrayed its unrest as support for Palestine,” she said. “Their propaganda cell was spreading lies online, misleading people under the guise of religion.”
