ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Saturday he was hopeful the government’s agreement with the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party would be released in the next seven to 10 days, reported the local media.
The TLP launched a major protest demonstration in the country’s most densely populated Punjab province in October, seeking the release of its incarcerated leader Saad Rizvi along with the expulsion of the French envoy to Pakistan over the publication of anti-Islam caricatures in his country last year.
This led to deadly clashes between the police and supporters of the religious group which claimed the lives of at least seven law enforcement personnel and left several of them injured.
TLP workers were instructed to march on Islamabad, though they camped in Wazirabad city after the government requisitioned paramilitary Rangers to deal with the protesters.
Pakistani officials also tried to pacify the situation by negotiating with the religious party, though they said they were going to announce the details of the government’s agreement with the group at the “right time.”
“An agreement has been decided with the TLP,” the interior minister was quoted by Dawn after he interacted with a group of journalists in the federal capital. “The hope is ... [its details] will come out in seven to 10 days and they will be positive.”
The minister maintained he did not actively participate in the negotiation process which was carried out by the country’s religious affairs ministry and Punjab administration.
Since announcing that it had reached an agreement, the government has released about 2,000 TLP activists who were arrested for perpetrating violence from prison.
Some of the prominent TLP leaders have also been taken off a terrorism watchlist, and the organization has managed to shun its proscribed status.
The interior minister told journalists the central government had banned the religious party on the recommendation of the Punjab administration, adding the Pakistani authorities restored the group’s status after the provincial government rescinded its decision.
Pakistan’s interior minister hopes details of government’s TLP deal will be released in 10 days
https://arab.news/6rtvd
Pakistan’s interior minister hopes details of government’s TLP deal will be released in 10 days
- The government did not share the content of its agreement with the religious party, saying it would do that at the ‘right time’
- Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said he did not actively participate in the negotiations which were carried out by religious ministry, Punjab administration
Peace can only prevail if Afghanistan renounces support for ‘terrorism’— Pakistan defense chief
- Pakistan’s chief of defense forces visits South Waziristan district bordering Afghanistan
- Pakistan says has killed 481 Afghan Taliban operatives since clashes began last Thursday
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir said on Wednesday that peace with Afghanistan can only prevail if Kabul renounces support for “terrorism” and “terrorist” organizations, the military’s media wing said as the two countries remain locked in conflict.
Fighting between the two neighbors, the worst in decades, broke out last Thursday night after Afghan forces attacked Pakistan’s military installations along their shared border. Afghanistan said its attacks were in response to earlier airstrikes by Pakistan against alleged militant hideouts in its country.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of sheltering militant outfits such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on its soil who have launched attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces in recent years. Kabul denies the allegations.
Munir visited Wana town in Pakistan’s South Waziristan district to review the security situation and troops’ operational preparedness at the Afghan border, the Pakistani military’s media wing said in a statement.
“The Field Marshal reiterated that peace could only prevail between both sides if the Afghan Taliban renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organizations,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
The military chief said the use of Afghan soil by militant outfits to launch attacks against Pakistan was unacceptable, vowing that “all necessary measures” would be taken to neutralize cross-border threats.
During the visit, Munir was briefed by military commanders about ongoing intelligence-based operations and measures being taken by the military to manage the border with Afghanistan.
He was also briefed about “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq” or “Wrath for the Truth,” the name Pakistan has given to its military operation against Afghan forces, the ISPR said.
The Pakistani military chief spoke to troops deployed in the area, praising their vigilance, professional conduct and high morale, the ISPR said.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the military has killed 481 Taliban operatives, injured more than 690 and destroyed 226 Afghan checkposts since clashes began.
Arab News has been unable to verify claims by both sides about the damages they claim to have inflicted on each other.
Afghanistan has signaled it is open for dialogue but Pakistan rejected the offer, saying it would continue its military operations till its objectives were achieved.
Since the conflict began, diplomatic efforts have intensified with several countries, including global bodies such as the European Union and United Nations, urging restraint and calling for talks.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Ankara would help reinstate a ceasefire, the Turkish Presidency said on Tuesday, as other countries that had offered to mediate have since been hit by the conflict in the Gulf.
