The Pakistan government has released 800 workers of the Islamist group Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) in its Punjab province on November 2, days after reaching an agreement with the banned far-right outfit.

On October 31, the Imran Khan-led government agreed to free more than 2,000 jailed activists of the banned Islamist outfit to end the violent protest that resulted in the death of seven policemen and injured several others.

Those released were arrested during the protests and raids, Punjab Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Raja Basharat told Dawn.

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The TLP has been demanding the release of its chief, Saad Hussain Rizvi, who was arrested in April by the Punjab government for “maintenance of public order."

Thousands of activists clashed with Pakistan’s security forces on October 20 and blocked the country's busiest highway.

Who are Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan?

Tehrik-e-Labaik, which means Movement of the Prophet's followers, started a movement in 2015 to protect Pakistan's draconian blasphemy laws. The movement was started by Khadim Hussain Rizvi, the father of Saad Hussain Rizvi. The extremist Sunni Islamist group started out as a protest campaign seeking the release of police guard Mumtaz Qadri, who had assassinated Punjab governor Salman Taseer in 2011.

Taseer had supported Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman put on death row in a blasphemy case. In 2018, the Pakistan Supreme Court acquitted Bibi, who left the country soon after. Meanwhile, Qadri was executed in 2016 and a political party TLP was founded at his funeral.

In 2018 election, TLP contested and secured over two million votes.

Why are they protesting?

This is the third time since 2017 that TLP has held protests. In 2017, the group protested against the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo. The magazine had first published the caricatures in 2006 and republished them last year when the trial over a deadly militant attack in 2015 reopened.

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In April this year, violent protests erupted as the TLP accused the Pakistan government of failing to keep its promise of expelling the French envoy and severing ties with the country. The party was protesting against the remarks of French President Emmanuel Macron on the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty by a Chechen Islamist group in October 2020. Samuel Paty was beheaded for sharing the Charlie Hebdo cartoons in a class to discuss freedom of expression. Hailing the slain teacher as a “hero,” Macron had said the country would uphold its liberal values, including the right to mock a religion.

Macron’s remarks sparked protests in Pakistan by TLP supporters. However, the Pakistan government defused tensions by promising to expel the French ambassador. The government’s failure to reach a resolution at the National Assembly resulted in the protests in April. The government soon banned the outfit and arrested its leader Saad Hussain Rizvi.

What does TLP want?

TLP wants the government to release Rizvi and expel the French ambassador. It also wants the government to remove the group from the terror list and allow it to participate in politics.

What is the deal?

To end the impasse, Pakistan reached an agreement with TLP on October 31 and said it would free more than 2,000 jailed activists of the group and also allow the banned party to contest elections, Reuters reported. The government will also remove the TLP from a terrorist watch list.

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"The state has acknowledged that the TLP is neither a terrorist group nor a banned outfit," Bashir Farooqi, a TLP member negotiating with the government, told local Dunya News TV.

In return, TLP will stop its violent protest and withdraw its demand to expel France's ambassador, Reuters quoted anonymous sources as saying.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Nov 3, 2021 8:04 PM IST