• Four cabinet members urge observing Friday as a ‘day of gratitude’ after Palestine ceasefire
• Naqvi says TLP kept changing demands during talks, sought release of prisoners
• SIC leader warns against targeting Barelvi groups

ISLAMABAD: Four cabinet members have said that the crackdown on Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) office-bearers would continue.

Taking serious note of the protest call for Friday (today) by clerics belonging to the Ahle Sunnat (Barelvi school of thought), they urged that the day be observed as a “day of gratitude” to mark the return of peace to Palestine.

Speaking on the state-run television, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Fed­e­r­­al Information Minister Ataullah Tarar, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousuf and Min­is­ter of State for Interior Talal Chaud­h­ry described the TLP as a group of anarchists and arsonists that has no political agenda except to challenge the authority of the state.

They criticised the attitude of the TLP leadership and said that the crackdown on the party’s office-bearers would continue.

Mr Naqvi said, “The TLP leadership has been deceiving the nation from the very beginning. We were holding talks with them even before the protest march commenced, but they never stood firm on any commitment.”

He said that after every round of negotiation, the TLP team came up with new set of demands, including the release of murderers from prisons.

The minister also lauded the police personnel who took part in the operation against TLP activists who had taken up positions at nearby mosques and houses and were continuously firing at the police.

Mr Tarar said that acts of violence were being carried out in the name of protests for Palestine and Islam.

“They dragged an inspector out of the official vehicle and fired 21 bullets at him. What kind of Islam or demand is that?” he questioned. He said Pakistan had raised the issue of Palestine at every international for­um, and after two years of severe suffering, the Palestinians finally have some relief due to the ceasefire.

“Now they are coming to Islamabad to protest for Gaza or against the ceasefire?” he asked.

Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Yousuf said that none of the senior clerics has supported the TLP march and criticised the section of clerics who had called for protest demonstrations after Friday prayers.

Protest call

The protest call has been given by a group named Tanzeemat-i-Ahle Sunnat, which has demanded a judicial inquiry into the Muridke incident. The TLP, however, is not part of the group. The main components of Tanzeemat-i-Ahle Sunnat include various factions of the Jamiat Ule­­ma Pakistan, Minhaj-ul-Qur­­an, Sunni Tehreek, Jamaat Ahle Sun­­nat, and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).

TLP, govt slammed

Talking to Dawn, SIC leader Sahib­zada Hamid Raza slammed both the TLP and the government, calling them “unrealistic and immature”.

“The case of TLP is clear — why do they end up in such situations every other year? And we have always oppo­sed their way of politics,” Mr Raza said.

It may be noted that late TLP founder Khadim Hussain Rizvi was originally a member of the SIC.

Mr Raza, who is an MNA and absc­o­n­ding in political cases, said that the government’s behaviour was “nonsense”.

“The state is doing everything to make militants out of Barelvi school of thought — we have never been violent, and this approach by the state is very dangerous,” he warned.

He questioned that if the government wanted to take action against TLP, then, why mosques and madressahs belonging to non-TLP Barelvi factions were being sealed and confiscated.

“We fear that the government would eventually hand over these mosques to the rival Deobandi group, which would be very unfortunate,” he added.

Mr Raza suggested that instead of harsh measures, the government should dispel rumours about TLP chief Saad Rizvi’s whereabouts. He said both Saad Rizvi and Anas Rizvi should be produ­ced in custody to clarify the situation.