Pakistan bans Islamist TLP social gathering recognized for anti-blasphemy stance : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3846x2564+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F54%2F52b350854cf681d1ed9a0a6fc9b6%2Fgettyimages-2240390139.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3846x2564+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F54%2F52b350854cf681d1ed9a0a6fc9b6%2Fgettyimages-2240390139.jpg" class="img" alt="Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan party activists run from police during a protest in support of Palestinians, in Muridke, Pakistan, on Oct. 13." fetchpriority="high"/> Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan social gathering activists run from police throughout a protest in assist of Palestinians, in Muridke, Pakistan, on Oct. 13. Arif Ali/AFP by way of Getty Pictures cover caption

toggle caption

Arif Ali/AFP by way of Getty Pictures ISLAMABAD — Pakistan banned a hard-line Islamist social gathering on Thursday, greater than per week after heated clashes with police that left a minimum of 5 folks lifeless.

The ban follows a march by the social gathering, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), earlier this month from the jap metropolis of Lahore to the capital metropolis, Islamabad. It escalated right into a vicious avenue battle between TLP supporters and police in Lahore and the close by metropolis of Murdike, resulting in a crackdown on the social gathering, which has come to be recognized for these violent confrontations.

A press release from the workplace of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated the ban was unanimously authorised by the federal cupboard, citing "violent and terrorist actions." The ban is the most recent chapter in a sophisticated relationship between the Pakistani state and the TLP, which has amassed appreciable grassroots assist lately for its hard-line views, notably on blasphemy or the denigration of Islam.

In keeping with Pakistan's blasphemy legal guidelines, individuals who insult Islam or Islamic figures can face a potential dying sentence. The TLP calls for dying as a punishment, and human rights teams say the social gathering's supporters typically perform brutal mob lynchings even earlier than folks accused of blasphemy go on trial. Pakistan has seen a major spike in blasphemy instances lately, in keeping with the TLP's rise.

The TLP was formally launched as a political social gathering in 2017 by a fiery cleric, although its ideology took maintain earlier, following the 2011 assassination of the governor of Pakistan's populous Punjab province, Salman Taseer, who was outspoken towards the blasphemy legal guidelines. The homicide led to a wave of assist for the governor's killer, Mumtaz Qadri, one among Taseer's bodyguards, who was hailed by some as a hero and defender of Islam. The TLP shouldn't be thought of a mainstream political social gathering, but it surely has a big ideological assist base, particularly in Punjab province.

The transfer to ban the social gathering got here from the federal government in Punjab, the place the current protests came about. Earlier than the ban, police in Punjab raided the home of the TLP's chief, Saad Rizvi, and the federal government sealed mosques and seminaries related to the social gathering. Among the social gathering's associates at the moment are additionally going through anti-terrorism prices, in line with Punjab's info minister, Azma Bokhari.

"This isn't a spiritual or political social gathering — they cover behind faith to unfold dysfunction and attempt to do politics over lifeless our bodies," Bokhari stated in an interview with native media.

The TLP introduced the protest as a present of solidarity with Palestinians following the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and protesters have been set to assemble in entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. Forward of the protest, the federal government suspended cell web service within the capital and cordoned off main roads with delivery containers to maintain protesters out.

Khurram Iqbal, an affiliate professor of safety research at Quaid-e-Azam College in Islamabad, says each exterior and inside components created the setting for this crackdown to happen, together with Pakistan's current realignment with the USA.

"We are able to unwell afford any strain group charging on the American Embassy," he says.

Azaz Syed, a senior Pakistani journalist, says the TLP acknowledged this dynamic as a chance.

"They thought that they might increase the priority that Pakistan is supporting America, and America is bringing peace after a compromise with Israel," Syed says. "They wished to additional put it to use for gaining extra assist."

However Pakistan's civilian authorities and army management additionally took this as an affront, he says, contributing to the crackdown. "It meant that they're really difficult them."

The TLP was beforehand banned in 2021 after the social gathering held violent protests in response to caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad revealed in France. The social gathering known as for the expulsion of the French ambassador, and 1000's of individuals gathered within the streets to strain the federal government to behave on their demand. The ban was later eliminated with the situation that the TLP should chorus from violence.

Pakistan's leaders have defended the present ban towards the TLP as needed to keep up public order. In an interview with native media, Pakistani Protection Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif known as for a "arduous state" strategy towards the social gathering.

"Such spiritual extremist teams, which resort to violence and trigger harm to property, can't be tolerated in Pakistan," he stated.

Pakistan has additionally taken a hard-line strategy towards different political events, most just lately the social gathering of imprisoned former prime minister, Imran Khan, beginning in 2023. Some leaders from Khan's social gathering held protests final week towards the crackdown on TLP, calling it unconstitutional.