PESHAWAR: The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) has ended the protest sit-in on GT Road in Wazirabad after the federal government revoked the ban against the party.
“We have ended the sit-in after the government accepted 50% of our demands,” the TLP leadership said in a statement. “The TLP workers have vacated the protest area and returned to their homes in Lahore and other parts of the province.”
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The government on Sunday removed barricades on one side of the road on the Chenab River Bridge but according to the local residents, the internet services was still suspended in the area. Yesterday, the government released three more TLP leaders from jail, while Saad Rizvi is still under the government custody. According to a statement issued by TLP, “Our organisation has complied with all the provisions of the agreement and the government is expected to implement the remaining provisions of the agreement as soon as possible.”
Under a secret agreement between the government and the TLP, the workers of the organisation had stopped advancing beyond Wazirabad. The TLP had started a march from Lahore to Islamabad on October 22. On October 29, the marchers reached Wazirabad on the GT Road. The government had called Rangers in Punjab to stop the march and Chenab and Jhelum bridges were closed for traffic.
The TLP’s main demands was the deportation of the French ambassador, the release of their leader Saad Rizvi, the lifting of the ban on TLP, and the removal of leaders from the list of most dangerous person, as well as the release of workers from prisons. The government had removed TLP from the list of banned organisations and hundreds of arrested party workers have been released.