Workers of banned TLP ‘brutally tortured’ DSP, took 5 policemen hostage: police official

Workers of the recently proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) “brutally tortured” a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and took him, as well as four other officials, hostage on Sunday, spokesperson for Lahore CCPO Rana Arif told.

Police said the violence occurred after “miscreants” — an apparent reference to TLP workers — attacked a police station and abducted the DSP, adding that it acted only in “self-defence”.

“Today in the early morning, miscreants attacked Nawankot Police Station where Rangers and Police officers were trapped inside the police station and DSP Nawankot kidnapped and taken to the markaz,” the Punjab police said in a statement.

It added that “at least one oil tanker with 50,000 litres of petrol has been taken by the miscreants to the markaz.”

According to the statement, which was tweeted by Punjab police while replying to journalist Hamid Mir, the miscreants were armed and attacked Rangers/police with petrol bombs.

“Police and Rangers pushed them back and took back the possession of the police station,” it said, adding that police did not plan or conduct any operation against the mosque or the madressah.

“The action, if any, was in self-defence and to protect public property.”

Arif said 11 police officials were injured after “brutal torture” by TLP workers and were under treatment at different hospitals in the city.

Meanwhile, at least three protesters were killed and several others injured during the clash, according to the party’s workers.

A TLP spokesperson said the clash started when police launched an operation to clear the area around Lahore’s Yateem Khana Chowk, where workers of the banned party have been staging a protest since earlier this week.

In a video message, TLP spokesperson Shafiq Ameeni alleged that “forces suddenly attacked [us] at Lahore Markaz at 8am today morning in which a large number of our workers have been martyred while many are injured”.

“[We] will bury [those killed] when the French ambassador exits the country and our agreement (with the government) is implemented,” he added.

Videos on social media showed people carrying away the injured and tending to them. However, some users pointed out that the videos were old and were shared without context.

TLP workers wielding sticks and stones also climbed atop the Orange Line Metro Train, while speeches were being made through the area mosque to call people for support, according to the city police spokesperson.

The TLP also shared a video of a senior official of Punjab police, who was allegedly abducted by its workers on Sunday. The injured police official, assumedly under duress, said that an operation was being carried out to clear the area outside a police station when he was “captured” by the “enraged” crowd.

He said that three people were killed and several others sustained bullet wounds, appealing for a way forward through dialogue.

The TLP was formally banned by the federal government earlier this week after its supporters staged three days of violent protests across the country, resulting in deaths and injuries to several policemen.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad later in the day, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said the situation in the area around Yateem Khana Chowk was “tense”, adding that the government would take a decision on disbanding the TLP.

“If [TLP] has to be disbanded, the law ministry and Attorney General [of Pakistan] will be working on this and a reference will be filed.”

When asked whether any negotiations were taking place between the TLP and the government, Rashid replied in the negative.

Violent protests

During the three days of countrywide protests, hundreds of protesters and police personnel were injured and thousands of TLP activists and supporters were arrested and booked for attacking law enforcement personnel and blocking main roads and highways in protest against the arrest of their leader Allama Saad Hussain Rizvi.

On Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan also lauded the services of police for dealing with the “organised violence” perpetrated by the protesters.

In a tweet, the premier also announced that the government would look after the families of the four police personnel martyred during the violence.

“I want to pay special tribute to our police force for their heroic stand against organised violence intended to create chaos to blackmail [the] government,” he wrote, noting that four policemen were martyred and more than 600 injured during the unrest.

Govt ban

On Thursday, the government had slapped a ban on the TLP. A notification declaring TLP as a proscribed organisation was issued by the Ministry of Interior shortly after the federal cabinet approved a summary to ban the party.

The notification said: “The federal government has reasonable grounds to believe that the TLP is engaged in terrorism, [has] acted in a manner prejudicial to the peace and security of the country, [was] involved in creating anarchy in the country by intimidating the public, caused grievous bodily harm, hurt and death to the personnel of law enforcement agencies and innocent by-standers, attacked civilians and officials, created wide-scale hurdles, threatened, abused and promoted hatred, vandalised and ransacked public and government properties including vehicles and caused arson, blocked essential health supplies to hospitals, and has threatened, coerced, intimidated, and overawed the government [and] the public and created sense of fear and insecurity in the society and the public at large.”

Copies of the notification were sent to authorities concerned, including the secretaries of different ministries and divisions, State Bank governor, Election Commission of Pakistan secretary and director general passports.

The National Counter Terrorism Authority had also swiftly added the TLP to the list of banned terrorist organisations taking the total number of such outfits to 79.