ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government has lifted a ban on the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) religious political party, the interior ministry said on Sunday, after weeks of clashes and talks between the two sides.
TLP began a protest march last month calling for the release of its leader Hafiz Saad Hussain Rizvi, who has been under arrest since April. The group also wants the expulsion of France’s ambassador over the publication of anti-Islam caricatures in a French satirical magazine last year.
On October 31, the group reached a deal with the government, ending more than a week of clashes with police that left at least six policemen dead and scores injured on both sides. The details of the pact were not shared with the public but it was widely reported that the agreement included a commitment by the government to release TLP leaders and supporters and lift a ban on the party.
The Punjab government also last week requested the federation to remove TLP from its list of banned organizations.
“In exercise of the powers conferred under sub-section (1) of Section 11U of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, 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 organization,” a notification issued by the interior ministry said.
As part of the peace deal, the government has already released at least 2,000 arrested workers of the proscribed group, though Saad Rizvi still remains in jail pending a decision by the Lahore High Court.
On Saturday, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore granted bail to several TLP leaders.
The government banned TLP in April this year after violent protests by the group in which at least six policemen were killed and 800 people were injured, according to government figures.
After the protests, the government also agreed to have a parliamentary vote on kicking out the French ambassador but backtracked, with Prime Minister Imran Khan saying such an action would isolate Pakistan internationally.
Government lifts ban on Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan party after weeks of clashes, talks
https://arab.news/9ph49
Government lifts ban on Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan party after weeks of clashes, talks
- Six cops were killed last month in clashes between supporters of the religious political party and police
- TLP reached peace deal with government on October 31, was banned last April after similar violent clashes
Pakistan says $50 million meat export deal with Tajikistan nearing finalization
- Islamabad expects to finalize agreement soon after Dushanbe signals demand for 100,000 tons
- Pakistan is seeking to expand agricultural trade beyond rice, citrus and mango exports
ISLAMABAD: Tajikistan has expressed interest in importing 100,000 tons of Pakistani meat worth more than $50 million, with both governments expected to finalize a supply agreement soon, Pakistan’s food security ministry said on Tuesday.
Pakistan is trying to grow agriculture-based exports as it seeks regional markets for livestock and food commodities, while Tajikistan, a landlocked Central Asian state, has been expanding food imports to support domestic demand. Pakistan currently exports rice, citrus and mangoes to Dushanbe, though volumes remain small compared to national production, according to official figures.
The development came during a meeting in Islamabad between Pakistan’s Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain and Ambassador of Tajikistan Yusuf Sharifzoda, where agricultural trade, livestock supply and food-security cooperation were discussed.
“Tajikistan intends to purchase 100,000 tons of meat from Pakistan, an import valued at over USD 50 million,” the ambassador said, according to the ministry’s statement, assuring full facilitation and that Islamabad was prepared to meet the demand.
The statement said the two sides agreed to expand cooperation in meat and livestock, fresh fruit, vegetables, staple crops, agricultural research, pest management and standards compliance. Pakistan also proposed strengthening coordination on phytosanitary rules and establishing pest-free production zones to support long-term exports.
Pakistan and Tajikistan have long maintained political ties but bilateral food trade remains below potential: Pakistan produces 1.8 million tons of mangoes annually but exported just 0.7 metric tons to Tajikistan in 2024, while rice exports amounted to only 240 metric tons in 2022 out of national output of 9.3 million tons. Pakistan imports mainly ginned cotton from Tajikistan.
