Amid clashes with police, hurdles...: TLP march towards capital continues

LAHORE/GUJRANWALA: The activists of banned Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) continued their rally on the GT Road on Saturday amidst clashes with the police as well as the hurdles, created by the government on the way to stop them from reaching Islamabad.

Clashes between the TLP activists and police continued on the second day of the long march, leaving at least 52 policemen seriously injured. A number of activists of TLP were also injured due to baton-charge and tear-gas shelling. As the mob moved from MAO College and marched towards Shahdara and Kala Shah Kaku, the anti-riot police and heavy contingent of police resorted to heavy tear-gas shelling. The TLP activists also used clubs and stones to thrash the police. A spokesman for CCPO said the number of injured cops rose to 52 on Saturday. He said two Lahore policemen – Head Constable Ayub and Constable Khalid Javed – were martyred on Friday. As many as 15 policemen were brought to Services Hospital, eight were discharged while seven are still undergoing treatment. Sixteen injured were brought to Mayo Hospital, 12 were discharged and two were undergoing treatment and two were martyred. Mian Munshi Hospital received seven policemen, one was discharged, and six were under treatment there. One injured each was being treated at Farooq Hospital, Nawaz Sharif and Kot Khwaja Saeed Hospital. Three injured were admitted to Gangaram Hospital, two were discharged, and one was undergoing treatment there. The injured include DSP Naveed, Inspector Masood, SHO Kahna, SHO Gawalmandi, Nazar Hussain, Usman, Shahid, Khalid, Shaukat Ali, Maqsood Ali, Sub-Inspector Hasnain, Inspector Saadat and Constable Idrees.

CCPO Additional IG Ghulam Mahmood Dogar Saturday visited different hospitals including Sir Gangaram Hospital, Services, Mayo, General Hospital and others to inquire about the health of the injured policemen.

Meanwhile, the government has dug up a trench on GT Road near Gujranwala in response to an announcement by the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) that they will set out on a long march towards Islamabad. A deep and long pit was dug while the roads were also blocked by placing containers blocking all routes and tracks leading to and from Gujranwala.

Meanwhile, after the protesters left Lahore City, internet services were restored gradually, and the roads were reopened. However, Orange Line Metro Train was still closed — for four days now. Funeral prayers for the martyred policemen were offered at 10pm, and senior officers including CCPO Lahore and DIG Operations also attended it.

Separately, the government initiated talks with the banned TLP, according to Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat. The Punjab law minister’s statement came during a meeting of the committee, formed for negotiations with Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, Religious Affairs Minister Noorul Haq Qadri and Raja Basharat as its members. The law minister informed the committee that in the last three days, the government spoke to the banned outfit for four times. A day earlier, Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar announced the government’s decision to form a committee to hold talks with the banned outfit. “We have formed a committee, consisting of senior members of the Punjab cabinet Raja Basharat and Chaudhry Zaheeruddin to negotiate with the [banned] Tehrik-e-Labbaik,” Buzdar wrote on Twitter.

On Saturday, at Lahore’s Batti Chowk, clashes between protesters and police continued for a second day, injuring scores of policemen and the protesters. In Rawalpindi, the stretch from 6th Road to Faizabad remained blocked. Containers were placed on Murree Road, causing difficulties for commuters.

To keep Islamabad safe from the protests, the interior ministry has summoned an additional force of 30,000 policemen from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), who will be equipped with anti-riot gear. Notices in this regard have been sent to all three chief secretaries.

Earlier, PM Imran Khan also held a telephonic conversation with Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadri and discussed the matter.

On the PM orders, Qadri arrived in Lahore from Karachi and Sh Rashid from the UAE to hold negotiations with the banned outfit.