TLP South Punjab leaders separate from party after govt ban

Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) leadership from South Punjab announced on Friday that they have parted ways with the proscribed religiopolitical party following the government’s decision to ban it for involvement in violence and rioting.

According to the interior ministry’s notification, the federal government had reasonable grounds to believe the party was linked to terrorism.

One leader said, “The Pakistan Army is under threat from the East and the West. TLP, the party which we were part of, gave calls for marches and protests because of which our state and army had to deal with an internal war along with foreign threats.”

He further mentioned that during Pakistan’s recent escalation with India in May, TLP’s protest calls benefited the enemy. He also claimed that TTP terrorists have shown their association with the TLP in a recent video statement.

The government imposed the ban a day after the federal cabinet approved a proposal under the anti-terrorism act. This came after nationwide protests over Gaza that led to the deaths of several protesters and police officers, and caused severe disruption from Karachi to Islamabad.

Currently, the group holds only one seat in the Punjab Assembly, occupied by Mehmood Ahmad from PP-55 (Narowal-II).

The decision to ban the group was made during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said the cabinet “unanimously” approved the ban.

The interior ministry briefed the cabinet about TLP’s “violent and terrorist activities,” saying the group repeatedly caused unrest in the country.

TLP was founded in 2015 as a movement and became a political party in 2016. It was previously banned in 2021 by the PTI government after violent protests, but the ban was lifted six months later after assurances that it would avoid violence. The ministry said the new ban was imposed because the group failed to uphold those commitments.