ISLAMABAD: A calm prevails in Islamabad about the Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) call for a strike on Friday as people, transporters, and traders appeared indifferent to the strike call. In Islamabad, all main roads and markets are open, and life is proceeding as usual, with no fear or tension due to the TLP’s strike call for Friday.
This is the first time the people are least bothered about the nationwide strike call of the TLP. A few days ago, the TLP protest and clashes with police kept the Punjab and Islamabad paralyzed for almost four days. Nonetheless, the crackdown on the TLP in Murdike and in the Punjab province left the religious party’s activists to go into hiding.
Meanwhile, Islamabad police sealed all the offices of Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan on Thursday in the capital city to maintain law and order, a day ahead of the strike call.
Many leading traders and businessmen have issued their statements on Thursday and Friday, rejecting the strike call.
In Islamabad, all metro buses are operational, while all highways and roads are open today. Nevertheless, after Friday prayers, the activists of the TLP can appear on roads in different areas in the country to support their party’s call for nationwide protest.
TLP’s nationwide strike call rejected
he nationwide strike called by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) on Friday failed to gain traction, as traders, religious organizations, and civil society groups across the country rejected the call, terming it harmful for the economy, public peace, and national stability.
Traders and Religious Figures Condemn Strike
Prominent business and religious leaders strongly condemned road blockages, vandalism, and clashes associated with the protest, calling such acts un-Islamic and unethical.
Trader leader Atif Akram Sheikh criticized TLP’s approach, stating that baseless objections to government policies and violent demonstrations only hurt the public. He said that business closures inflict heavy financial losses on traders and disrupt daily economic activity.
Similarly, the President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) announced that the business community nationwide would not participate in the strike. He confirmed that all markets and business activities would continue as usual.
Markets Remain Open Nationwide
Trader leader Umar Butt also reaffirmed that markets across Pakistan would remain open on Friday, stressing that peaceful dialogue — not disruption — is the right way to express political or religious demands.
