Details of agreement with TLP to be disclosed within few days: Shaikh Rasheed

ISLAMABAD: Details of the agreement between the government and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) will be revealed within a few days, Federal Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed claimed on Saturday.

Rasheed claimed that all details regarding the agreement between both sides   government and the TLP, which was announced on October 30 in a press conference held by officials from the PTI government's negotiating team, will be brought to the public's notice within a period of 10 days.

Following the announcement of the deal, talking to a private channel, Saylani Welfare Trust Chairman Maulana Bashir Farooqui, who was present during negotiations between the TLP and the government, said the agreement cannot be made public before the 10th day of the deal, even as he assured that its contents "do not go against the national interest".

Regarding  electronic voting machines, the interior minister said that his party Awami Muslim League supports Prime Minister Imran Khan.

"I am a supporter of the EVM," he maintained.

He told the media that the names of the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif and Fawad Hassan Fawad were already on the exit control list (ECL).

The minister also shed light on the surging inflation in Pakistan, saying that food prices are increasing worldwide.

However, he admitted that inflation is a real problem the government needs to deal with.

It is pertinent to mention here that according to the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the weekly inflation for the week ended November 11 registered an increase of 1.81%.

During the week, average prices of 30 essential items, including tomatoes, diesel, petrol, cooking oil, vegetable ghee, potatoes, etc., rose.

Shedding light on the Pakistan Democratic Movement's (PDM) decision to hold a long march, Rasheed said that the actual time for the sit-in was when PDM chief Fazlur Rehman first visited Islamabad, and that the Opposition began protests "late".

The PDM last week announced protests across the country as well as a long march towards Islamabad against the government's "anti-people" measures and inflation.

"Now, if they plan a sit-in, they will be humiliated," he said, adding that it will take more than six months for PDM to warm up.

Rasheed said that the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan will negatively affect Pakistan. "Our economy is already going through testing times," he said.

From striking of deal to TLP's de-proscription

The government signed a secretive accord with the TLP on October 31, under which workers of the organisation who are not facing any formal criminal charges were to be released. The amnesty was also extended to the party's top leader, Saad Rizvi.

In compliance with the deal, the Punjab government decided to remove the names of at least 90 activists of the then proscribed outfit from the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

In addition, the Punjab government decided to release 100 other activists of the organisation from different jails in the province.

On November 2, the government began implementing the accord with TLP, with reports suggesting that it had released more than 800 supporters of the party arrested across Punjab.

Five days later, on November 7, the TLP ceased to be a proscribed organisation after the government accorded approval to the Ministry of Interior's summary asking for its removal from the First Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

TLP was placed in the said schedule in April 2021 on the recommendation of the Punjab home department.

According to a notification by the Ministry of Interior: "The provincial cabinet has considered the request of the organisation and in view of the assurance and commitment by the organisation, is of the opinion that the said organisation shall abide by the Constitution and laws of the country and therefore, keeping in view the larger national interest and long term perspective to ensure that such incidents do not recur in future, the government of Punjab has proposed to the federal government to consider revoking of proscription of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan."

The notice goes on to state that "in exercise of the powers conferred under sub-section (1) of Section 11U of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (as amended), the federal government is pleased to remove the name of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan from the First Schedule of the said Act as a proscribed organisation for the purposes of the said Act".

On November 10, a notification was issued by the Punjab Home Department, removing TLP chief Saad Rizvi’s name from the Fourth Schedule of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 with immediate effect.

Meanwhile, sources in the Punjab Home Department said it was not possible to release the TLP leader at the moment, as he was behind bars on the Federal Review Board's directives.

His release is possible after a hearing of the Federal Review Board, the sources said.

Justice Maqbool Baqir is the head of the three-member bench that will hear the case, the sources said, adding more than 90 cases are registered against the TLP chief.