ISLAMABAD: Prime minister Imran Khan has summoned a meeting of the National Security Council on Friday (Oct 29) in the backdrop of the protest of the proscribed organisation.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting said the meeting had been summoned in light of the situation arising out of the “illegal activities” by the banned group. “Other issues related to national security will also be discussed in the meeting,” he said. Chaudhry’s statement comes as thousands of TLP workers left Kamoke and neared Gujranwala city on Thursday morning, continuing with their long march to Islamabad.
Meanwhile, federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said that the state had laws against terrorism and militancy.
“Killing of policemen and other [law enforcement agencies] and any act of terrorism by the TLP or any group will be dealt with the full force of the law. Restraint by the government so far should not be mistaken as weakness. Let there be no ambiguity on that count,” she said.
A day earlier, Chaudhry announced that the TLP would not be allowed to challenge the writ of the state and would be treated as a “militant” group – not a religious party.
“The cabinet has decided to treat TLP as a militant organisation and it will be crushed as other such groups have been eliminated. Pakistani state has defeated major terrorist organisations such as Al Qaeda,” Chaudhry said at a post-cabinet meeting press conference on Wednesday.
The minister said the government had evidence that the TLP was being funded by some groups in India which also maligned Pakistan through social media.
The TLP, he said, was established in 2015 and since then, its modus operandi had been to come out on the roads and block them. “But there is a limit to the state’s patience.”
The same day, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid said that “like Karachi”, Rangers were being deployed in Punjab for 60 days to maintain the law and order situation in the province.
He said Rangers were being deployed in Punjab under Section 4 (2) of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, read with Article 147 of the Constitution, on the requisition of the provincial government.
