Pakistan lifts ban on Islamist party

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TLP supporters during a demonstration in Lahore

Photo: MOHSIN RAZA / REUTERS

Pakistan lifted the ban on a popular Islamist party after violent protests.

The Ministry of the Interior issued a corresponding notice on Sunday evening.

Tehreek-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) can take part in political events in the country again, collect funds and access frozen bank accounts.

The party became known in 2017 for advocating laws that provide for the death penalty for insulting Islam or the Prophet Muhammad.

At the end of last month, during protests, some of which were violent, thousands of TLP supporters demanded the expulsion of the French ambassador because of the publication of Mohammed cartoons in France the previous year.

Several people were killed and dozen injured in the protests.

TLP breaks off march on capital after agreement

Last week there was an agreement between the government and TLP.

In the course of this, the TLP broke off its march on the capital Islamabad and promised not to hold any more violent protests in the future.

The TLP spokesman Sajjad Saifi told the AFP news agency on Monday that the party was informed of the lifting of the ban on Sunday evening.

"The classification has been a matter of great concern to all of us," Saifi said.

"All of our activists were registered under anti-terrorism legislation."

The TLP's clashes with the government have been ongoing since 2020.

The government refuses to deport the ambassador and instead banned the party in April.

In 2020, the French satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo" republished Mohammed cartoons, triggering protests in parts of the Muslim world.

The TLP has repeatedly led protests against alleged cases of blasphemy in Pakistan in recent years.

svs / dpa / AFP