Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) protesters, who had camped at Muridke after authorities blocked their route to Islamabad by digging up trenches, were dispersed on Monday after clashing with law enforcement personnel, according to police.
Authorities moved to close roads and motorways again in and around Lahore and Islamabad — which had started reopening on Sunday — after the development as panic spread among citizens about the potential outcome of the clash. Meanwhile, some schools in Islamabad also closed earlier than usual.
The TLP, which began its protest march in Lahore on Friday, was planning to reach Islamabad and stage a demonstration in support of Gaza and Palestine outside the US embassy. On Sunday, law enforcement agencies, including Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) and large contingents of police from five districts, were dispatched to Muridke and reportedly surrounded TLP protest camp, in what appeared to be preparations for a large-scale operation.
A senior police official, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed to Dawn.com today that police action to disperse the protesters from Muridke started at 3am and lasted for six hours.
Later, Punjab police spokesperson Mubashir Hussain said a police station house officer (SHO) was martyred during the clash and three TLP workers were killed.
Separately, the Punjab police also posted on X about an SHO’s martyrdom in “firing by armed groups” in Sheikhupura — the district where Muridke is located. The police, however, did not name the TLP.
The statement on X said Sheikhupura Factory Area Station House Officer (SHO) Shehzad Nawaz had lost his life in the line of duty while trying to maintain order and protecting peoples’ lives and properties.
Hussain said 48 law enforcement personnel were injured in the clash, 17 of whom sustained bullet wounds, while eight citizens also suffered injuries. He further stated that a passerby was also killed in the incident.
Punjab police later posted on X that the injured law enforcement personnel were being provided medical treatment.
Hussain maintained that as law enforcement personnel moved to disperse the protesters, TLP members attacked them with stones, batons with nails lodged in them and “petrol bombs”. They later opened fire, he alleged, adding that lives were lost during the firing.
“Law enforcement personnel had to initiate limited action in their defence,” Hussain said, further accusing the TLP protesters of setting 40 government and private vehicles on fire.
He said police had also arrested several protesters. Authorities have been arresting TLP activists since their protest began on Friday last week. Meanwhile, Lahore Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Operations Faisal Kamran had told the media on Saturday that 112 police personnel had been injured until then since the start of the protest.
Earlier today, videos allegedly showing clashes between the TLP and police, with images showing burnt vehicles and smoke filling the air, were circulating on social media.
On Sunday, it was also reported that talks were ongoing between the government and the TLP.
‘Treason and terrorism’
Commenting on the TLP protest during a press conference today, Punjab Information and Culture Minister Azma Bokhari said it was the government’s responsibility to protect the lives and properties of people. And the government could not evade this responsibility, she added.
She further stated that “blocking roads and creating inconvenience for citizens, especially when peace has been restored in Gaza and people are happy there, trying to bring the country to a halt and taking the law into one’s hand is unacceptable”.
Separately, a post on the Punjab government’s X account, referring to the TLP, said: “Attacking the state, firing at and inflicting violence on police, destroying properties and looting and plundering do not qualify as protest but open treason and terrorism. The armed mobs of the TLP are not above the law. When the state enforces its writ, these masked criminals stage a drama of playing the victims.”
The post also had a video, which showed masked men causing harm to properties and engaging in violence.
Road closures
A Dawn.com correspondent in Islamabad reported the road blockades around Faizabad Interchange — the key intersection between Rawalpindi and Islamabad — had been removed. But most of the routes at the location were closed again after panic began spreading around 11am.
For now, only the Islamabad Expressway is open at Faizabad, he said.
The correspondent said mobile internet in the federal capital was working, but there were reports of service suspension and slow internet speed in some areas of Rawalpindi. The mobile internet service had been suspended in the twin cities ahead of the TLP protest on Friday but was later partially restored.
He also reported that some schools in the capital had closed earlier than the usual time today. The school, he said, sent messages to parents about the development, citing a potential “law and order” situation.
Ghulam Abbas, a resident of Islamabad’s Margalla Town, told Dawn.com he could feel the panic even when he dropped his children off at school at 9am.
“And all of a sudden, we received messages from schools about the half-day timings. They said students should leave the school as early as possible, as the school would close early.
“I had to rush to pick up my children … The panic also led to traffic congestion. I now hear that Faizabad is closed again. Luckily, I passed that route well in time.”
Meanwhile, a Dawn.com correspondent in Lahore reported that authorities had closed M-2 Motorway, which connects Lahore to Islamabad, M-3 Motorway, which links Lahore to the Abdul Hakeem area in Khanewal and M-11 Motorway, which connects Sialkot to Lahore.
Karachi traffic police informed commuters on X that routes around 4K Chowrangi were blocked due to the protest of a “religious group”.
