The Interior Ministry on Friday formally notified a ban on the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), declaring the federal government had “reasonable grounds” to believe the party is connected to terrorism.
“The federal government has reasonable grounds to believe that TLP is connected with and concerned in terrorism,” reads the notification. “In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 11B(1)(a) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (XXVII of 1997), the federal government hereby orders TLP to be a proscribed organization for the purpose of the Act and list the aforesaid organization in the first schedule to the said Act,” it added.
A day earlier, the federal cabinet had approved a Punjab government proposal to ban the party under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The request followed several days of violent unrest that had resulted in the deaths of at least five people, including a police officer, and injured dozens more.
The PTI government similarly banned the TLP in 2021. That ban was reversed after six months following negotiations between the government and the TLP, which had agreed to no longer indulge in any violence in future.
Reportedly, the Interior Ministry has also initiated a process to file a reference in the Supreme Court seeking a ban on TLP under Article 17(2) and (3) of the Constitution, which could result in the de-notification of the group as a political party by the Election Commission of Pakistan. For this to materialize, however, the government must send the reference within 15 days and the ban can only come into force if the court upholds it.