Amraiz Khan Lahore
The Punjab government has released more than 800 workers of the banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), days after reaching a deal with the group to end nearly two weeks of protests and clashes.
Following the agreement, the process of releasing the activists of the religious organization has started, sources in TLP said.
According to sources, about a thousand TLP workers from across the province were arrested and were scheduled to be released by Saturday evening. They said, all these workers were detained under 3MPOs.
Following an agreement between the government and the religious party, the Punjab Home Department has ordered the release of all the workers.
Sources said that the activists and leaders who are facing serious cases including murder and terrorism will be released after a judicial process.
Sajjad Faizi, a member of the religious organization’s Majlis-e-Shura, said a large number of arrested workers had been released, but the exact number could not be determined. So far only those who have not been prosecuted have been released. They were only detained under 16 MPOs.
It may be mentioned that a meeting of the steering committee was held under the chairmanship of Federal Minister Ali Muhammad Khan yesterday.
The steering committee has been formed on the directives of the Prime Minister. Ghulam Ghaus Baghdadi and Hafizullah Qalbi participated in the meeting.
The meeting reviewed the nature of cases of arrested activists of the religious organization, fugitive accused, cases registered under 16 MPOs and the legal position of the accused wanted in Schedule IV.
According to sources, anti-terrorism and other serious cases against leaders and activists of the religious organization in Lahore, Sadhuki and other districts after October 22 were also discussed in the meeting.
